 President of the United States. Good morning, good morning, and welcome to FBI, which marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Will you all please now stand for the invocation to be delivered this morning by Chaplain James Menace, United States Marine Corps, and please remain standing for the presentation of the colors by the United States Marine Corps Color Guard and for the playing of our National Anthem by the United States Marine Band, Chaplain Menace. Let us bow our heads in prayer. Almighty and loving Father, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the FBI, we turn our thoughts to you with grateful hearts. We're grateful that you shall instill in men the foresight and the wisdom to found the FBI. Grateful too that you should inspire so many men and women willing to choose the difficult, sometimes dangerous, the always demanding vocation of being an agent. And we're especially grateful for their faithfulness to that calling and its author of office. Bless them always. Be with them to care for them, to guide and to support them with your loving hand. May the lives they lead, the example they set be an inspiration and an example for all of us to follow. Impressing upon us that as they are so must we be instruments of your peace and justice across the face of this great land. Nor do we wish to forget and we will not forget. Those dedicated and brave agents who give all they had to give in being peacemakers, they're very lives. No more can be asked, no less expected. Bless them, reward them with the reward of the just and the faithful. May your everlasting presence in heaven bless each one of us here this morning and all men and women of good will so that together we may be a people of fidelity, bravery and integrity, making this land of the free and the home of the brave a better place for all to live. May God bless and hold each one of you always in the palm of his hand. Amen. Please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Honorable William H. Webster. Good morning, Mr. President, Attorney General Smith, Director Casey, members of the FBI family. Isn't this a beautiful day for the FBI? 75 years ago, Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte. Under instructions from President Franklin, President Theodore Roosevelt, established what has now become the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Today culminates a series of events in which we have honored all of those in our 75-year history who have served their country through the FBI. We started Friday evening with the United States Marine Corps salute to the FBI. And on Saturday, the large open house at our FBI Academy at Quantico. And in the evening, our FBI gala with our friend Jimmy Stewart. And on Sunday, many of you were out for our family-style picnic. And today, Climax is a tremendous event. I hope that all of you through this weekend have sensed the friendship, the mutual support, and loyalty that characterizes our FBI family. Throughout our 75-year history, we have had but one mission to uphold the law. Like our great country, the FBI is strong, the FBI is young, and its greatest songs are still unsung. And I am very proud to be standing here as a part of you today. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you our Attorney General, the Honorable William French Smith. Thank you very much, Judge Webster, President Reagan, distinguished guests. It's an honor, indeed, for me to share in this significant observance. Today, we mark a milestone in the FBI's impressive history of achievement. As with most beginnings, the creation of the investigative arm of the Department of Justice on July 26, 1908 was accomplished without much fanfare. 75 years ago, there were few who envisioned the important role the Federal Bureau of Investigation would one day play. The dedicated work of thousands of former and present employees has established the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the forefront of law enforcement. Through the years, the challenges have varied, but the special agents and support personnel of the FBI have always effectively responded in a manner characterized by fidelity, bravery, integrity. During World War I, they thwarted enemy sabotage attempts. In the 20s and 30s, they combated the rise of gangsterism by successfully pursuing criminals such as Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine Gun Kelly, Babyface Nelson, John Dillinger, and Ma Barker. They countered Axis espionage activities and sabotage attempts during World War II. When the Cold War era presented the threat of communist espionage, they met that challenge. In fact, it continues very much as an investigative priority today. In the 1960s and 1970s, they aggressively pursued the upper echelons of organized crime and the violent sector of our society, including terrorists, skyjackers, kidnappers, and bank robbers. The challenges of the 1980s are even more serious and diverse. Drug trafficking, organized crime, public corruption, terrorism, and hostile intelligence activities are but a few. In fact, today, the FBI's investigative responsibilities are grouped in over 200 classifications. As impressive as they are, the Bureau's investigative accomplishments are only a part of their heritage. Any law enforcement officer or prosecutor can tell you of the FBI's leadership and invaluable contributions in other areas as well. Without such FBI services as fingerprint identification, laboratory examinations, police training programs, the National Crime Information Center, and Uniform Crime Reports, the effectiveness of local law enforcement agencies would be seriously jeopardized. For 75 years, the FBI has set the standard for professional law enforcement. I'm proud of what the employees of the FBI have accomplished. Without their loyal service, the Department of Justice would be powerless to provide the protection and enforcement of our laws that the American people deserve and demand. And so it's appropriate that we recognize this important day in our history. Happy 75th anniversary to the men and women of the FBI. Today, we are honored that President Reagan has taken time from his demanding schedule to be with us. His presence is, I believe, an indication of the significance of this occasion and a tribute to the work of all of the employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I am happy indeed to present to you the President of the United States. Thank you very much. Thank you. Attorney General Smith, Judge Webster, and the special agents and staff and the distinguished guests of the FBI, the proclamation that I am about to sign outlines the history and accomplishments of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Believe me, it makes for impressive reading. But I couldn't help thinking this morning that no document or official history of the exploits of the men and women of the FBI could ever really capture what the Bureau, the letters FBI themselves, mean to the people whose way of life you are sworn to serve and protect. To the American people, you're a legend, and that is rightfully so. FBI agents have always been thought of as a cut above the ordinary, as law enforcement agents whose dedication and professionalism make them a first line of defense against mobsters, spies, corrupt officials, and other professional wrongdoers who prey on the innocent and undermine the moral foundations of our society. The personal qualities of the special agents of the FBI have made the Bureau the most corruption-free institution in the history of law enforcement and one of the most modern and advanced agencies of its kind in the world. Recently, we've passed through a painful era in American history when it seemed that many of our proudest values and most important institutions were called into question. It's my personal belief that as mindless and destructive as some of the criticism was, its final result has been not only a reaffirmation of those institutions and those values, but a new and greater understanding and appreciation for their usefulness and their meaning. The FBI will continue to look to the future to use the latest and most sophisticated techniques to fight organized crime, white-collar crime, terrorism, in short, to do what needs to be done to protect the law-abiding people of the United States. Today, under Judge Webster's leadership, the FBI takes on great new challenges. For the first time, you are involved in the investigation of narcotics and dangerous drugs trade. Already, you have brought to this endeavor the kind of expertise and skill that we've come to expect of you. You also face the threat of increased KGB and other hostile intelligence activities. The challenge of crime today in America is a grave one. As you know, upon entering office, this administration addressed itself immediately to the economic crisis that we were facing at that time as well as to the dangerous decline that had taken place in our nation's national security and military strength. Yet, even while we worked on these difficult problems, we still kept work on the nation's crime problem foremost in our minds. Last year, when I announced at the Justice Department our eight-point program for attacking this problem, I was pleased to be able to announce a very sizable expansion of Justice Department personnel, including for the first time in many years additional agents for the FBI. We're now moving forward with other elements of the crime program and we're doing so methodically and carefully, but with one goal in mind. A recent increase in the drug trade, which has led to your new role in this battle, is really a reflection of an even deeper problem. The criminal networks and syndicates that have been tolerated in America for too long. I can only repeat to you that we're going after organized crime, root and branch. Our goal is to break the power of the mob in America and nothing short of it. We mean to end their profits, imprison their members, and cripple their organization. The FBI has been and is today in the forefront of this battle. In recent years, you've scored admirable successes against professional criminals and their organizations. What is called for now is a renewed national strategy and a unified effort to achieve this objective. You stand at the forefront of our efforts to detect and counter the increasing hostile intelligence threat to our country. Espionage, theft and diversion of our technology and Soviet active measures threaten us as never before. This part of your duty, about which I can say little in detail here, is vital to our national security. And I ask that you continue to devote the special attention which this difficult task requires. On this, your 75th anniversary, I ask you to redouble your efforts to break apart and ultimately cripple the criminal syndicates in America. I also ask that you continue to give the highest priority to deterring and countering hostile intelligence activities within the United States. The FBI's record of fidelity, bravery and integrity is a long and distinguished one. At each turn in your history, when criminals have engaged in new or advanced forms of criminal activity, you have led the law enforcement community in responding to these threats. Once again, you are being asked by the American people for that kind of leadership, that kind of selfless dedication. I want to say to you that I know that you will respond as you always have with excellence and with fervor. Let me say to all the agents and staff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the American people are proud of your past and your present, and we are grateful that you will be there for all of the challenges that lie in our future. And now, I will sign the proclamation designating today, July 26, 1983, as FBI Day. It's nice to recognize something in Washington that's older than I am. Thank you, Mr. President, for your words, for the proclamation and for your unflinching support of the difficult work that you have given us and we accept your challenge. Mr. President, both you and the Attorney General referred to our motto, fidelity, bravery, and integrity, which incidentally is so beautifully portrayed in the lovely statute in the forecourt, a gift of a former agents of the FBI. We in the FBI have tried to make those words a part of our lives in the performance of our duties. Also symbolic of that motto is our badge worn by each special agent, a reminder to him and to her of our duty to protect the citizens of this great nation and of our oath to defend and support the Constitution of the United States. On this very special day, Mr. President, I would like to make a special presentation, one that has been made only on 13 previous occasions in the history of the FBI. President, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the badge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make you an honorary special agent of the FBI and with affection and pride to welcome you to our ranks. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our program for the FBI Day this morning. Thank you very much for being with us. God bless you.