 I escaped a shallow water. Well, Prime Minister Schluter, Mrs. Schluter, and distinguished visitors, welcome to the White House. It's been a pleasure to have you as our guest, as one would expect between close allies. Our meeting today, the Prime Minister, was straightforward, useful, and reflected the genuine friendship of our countrymen. I was happy to have had the opportunity to congratulate you, Prime Minister Schluter, on the success that you've had in your country in putting in place economy-building measures, including a far-reaching tax reform program. I can well imagine how difficult that task has been. Our efforts at tax reform remind me of one of Denmark's better-known fairy tales. When I talk about reforming the tax shelter or system, I can visualize a beautiful swan. All the special interest is an ugly duckling. I think the national debate over tax reform reflects the strength and soul of our democracy. The outcome is still in doubt. Every citizen is free to participate in the decision-making process. All sides are going to the people to muster support, and once the issue has been voted on and settled, there will be no recriminations. The losers won't be sent to some gulag. Everyone, winners and losers, will feel proud to live in a country committed to freedom of speech and press and dedicated to the principles of representative government. This is what binds not just Americans, but the free citizens of all lands, especially the people of our two countries. That bond is evident in so many ways. Perhaps the most impressive is in the magnificence of one of the resounding monuments to American freedom, the great stone carvings on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, there the son of Danish immigrants, Gutsen Borglum, immortalized in granite the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. He died before he saw the completion of his work, but his son carried on, and today it stands as a tribute to the flame of liberty that burns red hot in the soul of a man with roots in America and Denmark. One of the greatest threats to freedom is that it will never be taken for granted. Pardon me, I should say it will be taken for granted is the threat. It never should be. But there are many reasons for confidence, and a story I came across recently truly inspired me and I'd like to share it with you. Ms. Drake is here in the audience who brought this story to my attention. Natalia and Nells Mortensen, both in their 80s, live in a small town of Marstall in the island of Arrow in Denmark. For the last 40 years, they have been tending the grave, the grave site of a young man they never met. They dig the weeds out, they place flowers, red, white, and blue ones on the grave, and always there is a small American flag and when it gets too worn, they replace it with another. They're watching over the final resting place of US Air Force Sergeant Jack Elwood, Wagner, who died when his plane was shot down off the coast of that island, fell into the sea after a bombing raid over enemy territory on June 20, 1944. Jack Wagner's body washed up on shore in occupied Denmark 18 days after his bomber crashed and the word spread quickly. When the Nazi occupation troops finally arrived to bury the young American, they found nearly the whole town of 2,000 had been waiting at the graveyard since early that morning to pay tribute and homage to the young American flyer. The path had already been lined with flowers and when the enemy troops they incidentally had removed his identification before the troops had arrived. When the troops had laid him in his grave and left, then the townspeople placed two banners of red, white, and blue flowers on the grave. They conducted a funeral service. One of the banners had a ribbon which read, Thank you for what you have done. Jack Wagner was a 19-year-old American from Snyder County, Pennsylvania. They'd never met him, yet the people of the small town, thousands of miles from his home, felt they knew him because they said he was a young man who gave his life for their freedom. The mortals have attended his grave four decades now, just as if he were a member of the family. We invited them to be here tonight, but they wrote and told me that at their age they didn't believe that they could take on such a long trip. But Jack Wagner's sister is here tonight. Mrs. Wall, would you stand for just a second and let us? She has been to Denmark to meet the Martinsons and to thank them for what they've done. Let all of us learn from their devotion. After our meeting today and the heartfelt gulb will of this evening, I think we can all be certain that in the future our two peoples will continue to stand side by side as members of the same family, the family of free people. Incidentally I should have added that with the age of the Martinsons, the village in which they live has already officially made it plain that when they can no longer care for the grave, the village will take it over as an official function of that village. So I think we shall have two toasts tonight. First a toast to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark, to the Queen. And would you also join me in a toast to Prime Minister and Mrs. Schluter and to our Danish friends and allies? Pete Rose has been at bat twice and he hasn't hit yet. Mr. President, Mrs. Reagan, my wife and I shall never forget the beautiful, welcoming ceremony and your kind words this morning. And this splendid evening will also belong to our dear memories. We are most grateful for your invitation and warm reception. And so Mr. President, are the Martinsons from the small village. They would have liked very much to join us tonight, but they have asked us to present you with a small gift and I'm very proud to do so tonight on their behalf. Mr. President, may I begin by a self-censored remark? This is not my habit. The 10th of September has a special domestic significance for me because on this day, three years ago exactly, I assumed my present duties as Prime Minister of Denmark. Please forgive me for the sort that tonight is also a birthday party for me. And thank you very much, Mr. President, for having invited so many distinguished guests. Mr. President, the United States and Denmark have maintained diplomatic relations for almost 185 years and we Danes like to believe, and I think it is true, that we have a longer uninterrupted relationship with the United States than any other country. But far more important than the duration of the official relationship is the fact that within the framework of officialdom, there are innumerable personal ties between Americans and Danes and strong bonds of common values. The idea of America as the land of milk and honey and the land of freedom and of opportunity is deeply ingrained in our consciousness. So is the idea of America as a partner in cooperation. In today's world of interdependence and worldwide problems, we are aware that the problems must be met by common effort. Concepts as freedom, democracy, respect for human rights are living realities in our societies, however imperfect they may seem. In 49, our countries became formal allies. At that time, and I think this is important, nobody could foresee that Western Europe was about to enjoy an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. The basis for this has been the close cooperation between the United States and Europe, originally under the auspices of the European Recovery Program, which led to the establishment of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, and not least in NATO, which remains the indispensable basis for our security and for our endeavors to conduct a constructive dialogue with the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe. I have been told that the presidential seal for George Washington was designed by a Danish-born artist, Christian Gulager, who spent most of his life in the United States. The olive branch and arrows of the vigilant eagle of the seal symbolize the basic foreign policy of the United States, peace based on security. Last year in May, the NATO countries adopted the Washington statement on East-West relations. This statement embodied the symbols of your seal, Mr. President, in saying that we, on the basis of adequate strength, will strive for a constructive dialogue with the Warsaw Pact countries in order to achieve genuine deterrent. We see your meeting, Mr. President, with Secretary General Gorbachev in two months' time in this perspective. As I said, the great opportunities of this country have attracted many Danes. In the 19th century, a small but tough group of Danish immigrants went west, all the way to the west coast. I believe you had to be very tough to get as far as that. In Santa Barbara area of California, they bought 10,000 acres of land and they built a lovely small town called Solvang, sunny meadows. I understand, Mr. President, when you ride on horseback, your ranch in the skies is separated from this little piece of Denmark only by the Santa Jinnets River. We think this is delightful thought and would be glad to let the distance across the narrow Santa Jinnets River, rather than the vast Atlantic Ocean, symbolize the distance between our countries. We consider the United States our very good and close neighbor. Let me conclude by proposing a toast to the well-being of the President of the United States of America and Mrs. Reagan, and to continuous, close cooperation and a strong friendship between our countries and governments. Thank you.