The General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire passed the Tehcir Law authorizing the deportation of the entire Armenian population.
Armenian resistance against the Ottoman Empire began to organize in Urfa.
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Pope Leo XIII beatified sixty-four Vietnamese Martyrs. The Vietnamese Martyrs, including 53 additional individuals later beatified, were canonized on June 19, 1988.
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It was an hour long.
Well, I want to thank you very much. This is a beautiful place. I've been here many times going to high school, not so far away. Good, a good place. Also, a military academy. Not quite of this distinction, but it was a lot of fun for me. And I just wanna say hello cadets and on behalf of our entire nation, let me begin by saying congratulations to the West Point class of 2025, you are winners, every single one of you.
Thank you. And now we want you to relax and I'm supposed to say, "At ease." But you're already at ease. You're at ease because you've made a great choice in what you're doing. Your choices in life has been really amazing. So this is a celebration and let's have a little fun. I want to thank your highly respected superintendent, General Stephen Glenn, and he is really, uh, something, I got to know him backstage with his beautiful family and his reputation -- His wife is just incredible, his reputation is unbelievable.
And thank you very much. And your daughter is a winner also. Just like everybody out there, real winner. Thank you. Thank you. I also want to thank your [Inaudible] General RJ Garcia, Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, Army Chief of Staff, General Randy George, Senator Ashley Moody, Representatives Steve Womack, Bill Huizenga, Pat Ryan, Mark Green, Keith Self.
Acting US attorney, Alina Habba. And very much, uh, just all of the friends. We have a lot of friends in the audience today. And I just want to thank 'em all for being here. We have a tremendous amount of my friends. They wanted to come up and they wanted to watch this ceremony and they wanted to watch you much more so than me. So I just want to thank so many people are here.
Over the past four years, an extraordinary group of professors, teachers, coaches, leaders, and warriors have transformed this class of cadets into an exceptional group of scholars and soldiers. And so let's give the entire group, the entire West Point faculty, the staff, for their incredible love of you and outstanding devotion to the core.
Let's give them a little hand. And importantly, we can't forget all of those people beaming with pride, look at them in the audience, oh, they're so proud. They're in the stands. So thank your parents, your grandparents and family members who made this all possible for you. Thank you. And I think they must have done something right based on what I'm looking at. America loves our military moms and dads.
Nearly one-third of the cadets graduating today are themselves the children of veterans. So to everyone with us this morning who served America in uniform, no matter your age, please stand so we can salute your service, we'd like to see who you are. Congratulations. Great job. Every cadet on the field before me should savor this morning. 'cause this is a day that you will never, ever forget.
In a few moments, you'll become graduates of the most elite and storied military academy in human history. And you'll become officers in the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know because I rebuilt that army and I rebuilt the military. And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.
Your experience here at West Point has been anything but easy. -- came for duty. You came to serve your country and you came to show yourselves, your family, and the world that you are among the smartest, toughest, strongest, most lethal warriors ever to walk on this planet. Looking out at all of you today, I can proudly say, mission accomplished.
Great job. But now you have to go on. You have to forget that 'cause now you have another. It's a sad thing, isn't it? You know, you can't rest on your laurels no matter what. You just have to keep going. You take it, you take a little day off and you go on to the rest. 'cause you have to have victory, after victory, after victory.
And that's what you're gonna have as you receive your commissions as second lieutenants, each of you continues down the same hallowed path, walked by Titans and legends of US, military law. Giants like Ulysses S. Grant, John Black Jack Pershing, Dwight David Eisenhower, the one and only Douglas MacArthur, old blood and guts, George Patton and Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf, all great.
So many more. They and countless other patriots before you have walked out of these halls and straight into history. And today, you officially join those immortal heroes in proud ranks of the long gray line. You know that term. So beautiful. The long gray line. Among the 1,000 cadets graduating today, 26 of you wear the prestigious Star Wreath, signifying the highest level of academic achievement.
Please stand up. 26. Let's see if somebody stands who shouldn't be standing. Congratulations. That's a big honor. This class includes an incredible four Rhodes Scholars. Stand up, please. Four. Wow. That's tied for the most of any West Point class since 1959. That's great. Four. Congratulations. Boy, oh boy, oh boy.
I wanna bring them right to the Oval Office. I don't wanna have them go too far away from me. Eight cadets here today took on the challenge of designing their own hypersonic rocket. Oh, we can use you. We're building them right now. You know, we, uh, we had ours stolen. We had -- We are the designer of it. We had it stolen during the Obama administration.
They stole it. You know who stole it? The Russians stole it. Something bad happened. But we're now -- We're the designer of it and we're now building them and lots of them. And earlier this year, they launched it into space, setting a world record for amateur rocketry. Can't get you in there fast enough.
This class excelled not only mentally but also physically last January when more than 1,000 cadets volunteered for an 18-and-a-half mile march on a freezing winter night. Cadet Chris Verdugo completed the task in 2 hours and 30 minutes flat, smashing the international record for the competition by 13 minutes.
Where is he? Where is he? Come up here. Come up here, Chris. Get up here, Chris. Wow. Come here. That's -- By 13 minutes. Come here, Chris. I wanna see this guy. Say something. Come here. Come here.
[Laughs] It's been a long five years, but I couldn't have done it without any of these guys. Love you guys all. Thank you. Thank you.
Wow. That's great. Keep it going, Chris. That really is the definition of Army strong, isn't it? International. International. This class includes 513 graduates who completed Air Assault School, 70 who completed Airborne School, eight who made it through the ultra-elite Army Diver School, among the most difficult and grueling programs anywhere on Earth.
That includes the first two women in West Point history to complete Diver School; cadets Megan Cooper and Clara Sebu. Where are you? Stand up. Where are they? Wow. Great job. That is not easy. Congratulations, Megan, Clara. That's a job well done. Fantastic. Thank you very much. Some of you achieved a different kind of distinction here at the academy, including seven century men who completed 100 hours of marching for disciplinary -- oh, no, infractions.
No. Don't tell me I'm doing this. Oh, I'm so sorry. Would you like to stand up? (laughs) I don't know. I think I saw Chris standing up. Chris, what, what's going on here? Well, you had one good, one not so good. Right, Chris? Can't believe Chris is standing up. But we want everyone to leave here today, Chris, so you're gonna be okay because I'm gonna do something with a clean slate.
So in keeping with tradition, I hereby pardon all cadets on restriction for minor conduct offenses effective immediately. So you're all okay. You're all okay. The class of 2025 is a lot to be proud of, including your first-rate athletes and athletics. You are something. I've been watching too. I watch. I love the sports stuff.
What you've done is pretty amazing. Last year, for the first time ever, army lacrosse became the number one ranked men's lacrosse team in the entire country. Look at that. Those of you on the team, stand. That's a big honor. Stand. Great. That's a tough sport too. That's number one in the country. Your sophomore year, Army football beat Navy 20-17. And the you did it again, beating Navy 17 to 11 and dominating Air Force 23 to three.
But, this year, the Black Knights fought your way into the top 20 nationally and racked up your longest winning streak since 1949 with the help of graduating quarterback Cadet Bryson Daily or, as you call him, Captain America. Captain America. Stand up, Bryson. Where is Bryson? We gotta get him up here, right?
Come on, Bryson. Come on up. Man, oh, man, I heard -- I heard he's, uh -- well, I came to a game, and he was -- I said, "Yeah, he can get into the NFL, can't he?" But he chose this life and, you know what, I think he made a good choice. Come on up here, Bryson. Come on up. Wow.
All right. Go, Army football. Shout out to Hogs, H4. Um, can't wait to graduate. Love you, guys. Thank you. It's nice to meet you, sir.
If there anything we can do, just let me know. Okay? It's a great honor.
What a great guy. Well, I just tapped his shoulders like I hit a piece of steel. The guy's in good shape. There's a reason, you know, there's always a reason for success. Thank you, Bryson. At a time when other top college quarterbacks were thinking about going pro, Bryson's mind was on something else. As he told an interviewer earlier this year, "I'm focused on my career as an infantry officer." That's what he wants to do. So, Bryson, you did the right thing, and that's service at its finest.
Thanks, Bryson. That's amazing. He's an amazing guy with an amazing team. Each of you on the field today is among the most talented members of your generation. You could have done anything you wanted. You could have gone anywhere. You could have gone to any school. This is one of the hardest schools to get into.
And writing your own ticket to top jobs on Wall Street or Silicon Valley wouldn't be bad, but I think what you're doing is better. Instead of sports teams and spreadsheets and software, you chose a life of service, very important service, instead of stock options. And I do that stuff. It's sort of boring, honestly.
Compared to what you're doing, it's real boring. You chose honor and you chose sacrifice. And, instead of business suits and dress shoes, you chose muddy boots and fatigues, keeping yourself in shape, because West Point cadets don't just have the brightest minds, you also have the bravest hearts and the noblest souls.
You're amazing people. I could not be more proud to serve you as your commander-in-chief. And our country is doing well. We've turned it around. Very quickly, we've turned it around. I just got back from the Middle East, and I was at, as you know, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE. And, I will tell you, they said, all three leaders, great leaders of those three nations, they all said the same thing.
The United States of America is hotter now than we've ever seen it and, a year ago, it was as cold as it gets. And it's true. It's true. We have the hottest country in the world, and the whole world is talking about it. And that's an honor for all of us. I cannot wait to see the glory that is still ahead.
However, for the West Point Class of 2025, and we're gonna help you a lot because we're gonna give you a nation as good or better than it ever was. That's what I promise you. All the victories that you've had together on these grounds will soon pale in comparison to the momentous deeds that you'll perform on the mission you're accepting today and as, uh, future leader of America's Army.
And we have that Army geared up. We have ordered, you know, we just want $1 trillion military budget, general. Do you know that? 1 trillion? Some people say, "Could you cut it back?" I said, "I'm not cutting 10 cents." There's another thing we can cut. We can cut plenty of others, right, Dan? We can cut plenty of other things.
And you have a good man in Dan, too, general. I think you're gonna find that it's a very different, uh, warfare out there today. Now, they've introduced a thing called drone. A drone is a little bit different. It makes -- You have to go back and learn a whole new form of warfare, and you're gonna do it better than anybody else.
There won't be anybody close. Generation after generation, the men and women of the Army have done whatever it takes to defend our flag, pouring out their blood onto the fields of battle all over the world. And, all over the world, you're respected like nobody is respected. Our soldiers have sprinted through storms of bullets, clouds of shrapnel, slogged through miles of dirt and oceans of sand, scaled towering cliffs of jagged rock.
And, time and time again, the American soldier is charged into the fires of hell and sent the devil racing in full retreat. No task has ever been too tough for America's Army. And now that 250-year legacy of glory and triumph belongs to you, the 1,000 newest officers of the greatest fighting force in the history of the world.
And that's what you are, and that's what you're being thought of. Again, you are the first West Point graduates of the Golden Age of America. This is the golden age, I tell you. Promise. We're in a new age. This is the Golden Age, and you are the going to lead the Army to summits of greatness that has never reached before.
And you see that. And you see what's happening. You see what's going on in the world. Each of you is entering the Officer Corps at a defining moment in the Army's history. For at least two decades, political leaders from both parties have dragged our military into missions, it was never meant to be. It wasn't meant to be. People would say, "Why are we doing this?
Why are we wasting our time, money, and souls," in some case. They said to our warriors on nation-building crusades to nations that wanted nothing to do with us, led by leaders that didn't have a clue in distant lands, while abusing our soldiers with absurd ideological experiments here and at home. All of that's ended.
You know that. All of it's ended. It's ended, strongly ended. They're not even allowed to think about it anymore. They subjected the Armed Forces to all manner of social projects and political causes while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries' wars. We fought for other countries' borders, but we didn't fight for our own border.
But now we do, like we have never fought before, by the way. But under the Trump administration, those days are over. We're getting rid of the distractions and we're focusing our military on its core mission, crushing America's adversaries, killing America's enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before.
The job of the US Armed Forces is not to host drag shows, to transform foreign cultures, but to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun. The military's job is to dominate any foe and annihilate any threat to America, anywhere, anytime, in any place. A big part of that job is to be respected again.
And you are, as of right now, respected more than any army anywhere in the world. And that's happening. And I can tell you, you are respected like nobody can believe. As president, I am laser-focused on our core national interests. My preference will always be to make peace and to seek partnership, even with countries where our differences may be profound.
As you know, we're working on a lot of things right now. When I left office four years ago, we had no wars, we had no problems, we had nothing but success. We had the most incredible economy, the greatest, single greatest economy for a president in history. I think we're gonna beat it this time by a lot, if you want to know the truth.
Donald Trump 00:22:09-00:22:33 (24 sec)
No Signal (0.483)
But we had something going on very special. But if the United States or its allies are ever threatened or attacked, the Army will obliterate our opponents with overwhelming strength and devastating force. That's why my administration has begun a colossal buildup of the United States Armed Forces, a buildup like we've never had before.
Peace through strength. You know the term, I've used it a lot. Because as much as you wanna fight, I'd rather do it without having to fight. I just wanna look at them and have them fold. And that's happening. That's happening. And I've approved a one-trillion-dollar investment. And that will be, again, the largest ever in the history of our country.
And we are buying you new airplanes, brand-new, beautiful planes, redesigned planes, brand-new planes, totally stealth planes. I hope they're stealth. I don't know, that whole stealth thing, I'm sorta wondering. You mean if we shape a wing this way, they don't see it, but the other way they see it? I'm not so sure.
But that's what they tell me. We have the best tanks anywhere in the world. We're gonna start shipbuilding again. We're gonna start ship. We used to build a ship a day. Now we don't build them anymore. We had a lot of people that didn't know much about getting things built. But that's all I've done in my life, is build.
We're gonna have the best missiles, we already do, drones and much, much more. And earlier this week, I think you'll like this, I announced that we are officially building all in America, made in America, designed in America. We're the only ones that could do it, because we're the only ones that, with the great technology, we're building the Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield to protect our homeland and to protect West Point from attack.
And it will be completed before I leave office. And you know, you wouldn't think this, but our enemies are very unhappy about it. You've been hearing, you've been reading, "Why are they doing that? Why?" Well, we're doing it because we wanna be around for a long time. That's why we're doing it. We're also restoring the fundamental principle that a central purpose of our military is to protect our own borders from invasion.
Our country was invaded for the last four years, and they've allowed people to come into our country that shouldn't be, that shouldn't be here. Criminals walk in, no vetting, no check-in, no nothing. Where are they coming from? And they were taking people outta prisons. They were taking gang members. They were taking the mentally insane and allowing them to come in. And we're getting them out of our country.
We have no choice. We're getting them out and bringing them back where they came from.
Have no choice. And it's not easy. It's not easy. But hopefully the courts will allow us to continue. You know, we had the greatest election victory. This was, uh, November 5th was we won the popular vote by millions of votes. We won all seven swing states. We won everything. We won 2,750 districts against 505, 2,750 against 505. We had a great mandate and it gives us the right to do what we wanna do to make our country great again.
And that's what we're going to do. And on day one, I deployed our military to the southern border, and since that day we've reduced the number of illegal border crossings where there used to be hundreds of thousands of people coming into our country a day, we had nobody come in in the last week and a half.
We were at 99.999%, 99.999. Think of that. That was with the help of our military. We had one person come in. One. You know why? He got very sick, and we brought him through to have him brought to a hospital. One person. And for that, please don't hold me responsible, but that's okay. They did the right thing.
Gone are the days where defending every nation but our own was the primary thought. We are putting America first. We have to put America first. We have to rebuild and defend our nation. And very shortly you're going to see a nation better than it's ever been. And you see that with the trade. For years, we've been ripped off by every nation in the world on trade.
We've been ripped off at the NATO level. We've been ripped off like no country has ever been ripped off. But they don't rip us off anymore. They're not gonna rip us off anymore. And you're seeing it. You have to watch what we're doing on trade. I know it's not your primary thing, but it's quite important in all fairness.
But watch. You'll see what's going on. You've been reading about it over the last few days. We're making deals with other nations that were not even -- Nobody thought it would be even possible. And uh, the reason is very simple. They respect us again. They're respecting our country again. That's what you want.
And everything we do, we are bringing common sense back to America. It's all about common sense. We can say we're liberal, we're conservative. The new word is progressive. They don't like using the word liberal anymore. That's why I call them liberal. But, but, uh, whatever you are, you know, most importantly, you have to have common sense because most of it's -- General, most of it's about common sense when you get right down to it. And uh, we have a lotta people with a lotta, lotta very smart people, but they have to have common sense.
And we've liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political trainings. There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else for that matter in this country. And we will not have men playing in women's sports if that's okay.
I mean, I wouldn't wanna have to tackle as an example Bryson as a man, but I don't think a lotta women wanna tackle him. I don't think so. How crazy is it, men playing in women's sports? How crazy is it? So ridiculous. So demeaning. So demeaning to women. And it's over. That's over. We've ended it. And promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity.
They'll be based on merit. We won that case in the Supreme Court of the United States. We're allowed to go back to a system of merit. We're a merit-based country again. Today, morale in the armed forces is soaring to the highest levels in many decades after years of recruiting shortfalls. And we had years and years of recruiting shortfalls, and just last year was the worst of all, the last year of the Biden administration.
We couldn't get anybody to join our military. We couldn't get anybody to join our police or firefighters. We couldn't get anybody to join anything. And right now, just less than a year later, we just set a brand new peacetime recruiting record. The most, most people joined. And we are brimming -- In fact, be careful.
There's somebody gonna try and take your job. Be careful. You better be good. We are brimming with confidence and we're brimming with people. We had the most, best recruiting month that we've had in memory. Nobody remembers anything like it. And that's all because they have spirit now. They have spirit. They have a spirit for our country.
And now everybody wants to be doing what you're doing. Think of that. So, it's really a great honor, I will say. And I'm pleased to report that by next week, the army is expected to surpass its recruiting targets for the entire year. Something that hasn't happened in 28 years where we've had that. So that's pretty good.
And it's nice to know that you're doing something that everybody wants to do. Isn't it really nice? Wasn't -- I hated to hear that. During the campaign, I was hearing that, the, you couldn't get people to enlist. But now we're getting people, and it's sad because we're telling so many people, "I'm sorry, we can't do it." My administration is doing everything possible to forge the most powerful military ever built.
But ultimately, the task of keeping America strong and safe in the years ahead is going to belong to you. Among you are the lieutenants, majors, colonels, and generals who'll lead the army for the next 10, 20, 30, and even 40 years. So as commander-in-chief, let me offer a few words of advice as you begin your army careers.
And I thought I'd do this, and I can make this to a civilian audience or to a military audience. It's pretty much the same. And, uh, I did this recently at uh, Ohio State, and they really liked it. I gave them a little advice as to what I see for what you wanna do and some tips. And first of all, and you've already done it different from civilians.
They're making their decision right now. You've already made your decision. I love your decision. You have to do what you love. You have to do what you love. If you don't love it, you'll never be successful at it. And you've done this, and you really, many of you in the audience, many of you that are graduating, uh, you come from military backgrounds or you love the military, it's what you want to do, it's what you want to talk about.
One thing I see about people that love the military, that's all they want to talk about. I'll be out to dinner, and generals if they, if they love their job, usually the only good ones are the ones that want to talk about it all the time. But if they talk, that's what they want to talk about. I rarely, really very rarely see somebody who's successful that doesn't love what he or she does.
You have to love what you do. In your case, the military is what you chose. And I'll tell you what; you cannot go wrong. You're gonna see it too. You're gonna love it more and more with time. You know, I work all the time. That's all I do is I work, whether it's politically. Or before that, I did -- I was a very good businessman in case you haven't heard, really good.
But I was good 'cause I loved it, I loved it. I learned from my father a little bit of -- My father was a happy guy and all he did was work. He'd work Saturdays, Sundays. He'd work all the time. And he was a happy guy. He just loved life. And I learned that. I say, "You know, it makes him happy." I've seen other people that never work and they're not happy.
But you gotta love it, otherwise you won't be successful. In the army, there are a lot of different paths you can take, so follow your instincts and make sure that you take the path that you love, that you're doing something that you love within your military. You will be happier and the army will be far stronger for it. Second is to think big.
Always think big. If you're going to do something, you might as well think big, do it big because it's just as tough, and sometimes it's a lot easier thinking big than doing a small task that's more difficult. One of your greatest graduates, General Eisenhower used to say, "Whenever I run into a problem that I can't solve, I always like to make it bigger to solve it and solve more of it." If you go into solve a problem, and it might as well be a big problem as opposed to a small problem that lots of people can take advantage of and solve.
So you can achieve something really amazing. Think big. Third though, you gotta do this. Uh, brainpower you have to have, potential you have to have, but to be really successful, you're always going to have to work hard. An example is a great athlete, Gary Player. Great golfer. He wasn't as big as the other men that were playing against him; great, big, strong guys.
Gary was a smaller guy. I don't want to say too small. He is a friend of mine. He gets a little angry at people because he hits the ball just as far. He said, "I hit the ball further than them. Why am I small?" But he worked very, very hard. He was always doing exercise, he was always -- He was well ahead of his time.
He never stopped. He won 168 golf tournaments. He won 18 majors, nine regular, and nine on the senior tour. 18 with 168. That's the most tournaments, internationally the most tournaments anybody's ever won. But he made a statement years ago, and I heard it, I heard it. He's the first one. I think I've heard it a couple of times since, but he was the first.
He said, "It's funny, the harder I work, the luckier I get." And think of that, the harder I work, the luckier I get. And he worked hard, and you're working hard, and the harder you work, the luckier you're gonna get. Fourth is don't lose your momentum. Momentum's an amazing thing. Keep it going. I tell a story sometimes about a man who was a great, great real estate man.
He was a man who was admired for real estate all over the world, actually, but all over the country. He built Levittowns. He started as a man who built one house, then he built two, then he built five, then he built 20, then he built 1,000, then he built 2,000 and 3,000 a year. And he got very big, very big.
He was great at what he did. You see them all over the country still, Levittowns, so a long time ago. But he was, uh, the first of the really, really big home builders. And he became very rich, became a very rich man, and then he decided to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate, Gulf and Western, big conglomerate.
They didn't do real estate, they didn't know anything about it, but they saw the money he was making; they wanted to take it to a public company. And they gave him a lot of money, tremendous amount of money. More money than he ever thought he'd get. And he sold this company and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife.
Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn't work out too well. But it doesn't -- And that doesn't work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives doesn't work out, but it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat and he got a big yacht.
He had one of the biggest yachts anywhere in the world. He moved for a time to Monte Carlo and he led the good life. And time went by and he got bored. And 15 years later, the company that he sold to called him and they said, "The housing business is not for us." You have to understand, when Bill Levitt was hot, when he had momentum, he'd go to the job sites every night.
He'd pick up every loose nail, he'd pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a screw laying on the ground, he'd pick it up and he'd use it the next day and putting together a house. But now he was spoiled and he was rich, he was really rich. And they called and they said, "This isn't for us, this business.
We need to do other things. Would you like to buy it back? We'll sell it back to you cheap." And they did. He bought it, he bought it. He thought he made a great deal and he was all excited. But it was 15 years later, he lost a lot of momentum. Remember the word momentum, and he lost everything, it just didn't work, he lost everything.
And I was sitting at a party on Fifth Avenue one night a long time ago, and you had the biggest people in New York, the biggest people in the country, all in that party, and they were all saluting each other, how great they were, they were all telling each other, "I'm greater than you." It gets to be really, gives you a headache sometimes, but they had all these people telling their own stories about how fantastic.
A cocktail party, and I looked over, and I was doing well, I was, I don't know, I was invited to the party, so I had to be doing well. I was very, very young, but I made a name in real estate. And I looked over, and at the party sitting in a corner all by himself, nobody was talking to him, was Mr. Levitt.
He had just gone bankrupt, lost everything, he had lost everything, his home, everything. And I went over and talked to him because he was in the real estate business and I loved real estate, and I said, "Hello, Mr. Levitt, how are you?" He said, "Hello, Donald, it's nice to meet you." He knew me from being in the business.
I said, "Uh, so how's it going?" He goes, "Not well. It's really not going well, as you've probably read, it's been a very, very tough period for me, son." And I said, "So what happened? it's just, anything you can do?" He goes, "No, there's not a thing I can do." He said, I'll never forget, he said, "I've lost my momentum, I just didn't have it. I used to have it but I lost my momentum." So it's a story I tell, and you have to know when you have the momentum, but sometimes you have to also know when you've lost the momentum and leaving a field, sometimes leaving what you're doing sometimes is okay, but you gotta have momentum, but you have to know if that momentum's gone, you have to know when to say it's time to get out.
And it's a very sad story, I remember that story so well like it was yesterday. Fifth, you have to have the courage to take risks and to do things differently. Eisenhower, again, was threatened with court martials as a young officer for advocating a new doctrine of tank warfare. Billy Mitchell was thrown out of the army for pioneering the use of air power.
They said, "What do you mean air power, don't be ridiculous?" People willing to try and do things differently, it's never gonna be easy for them, but they're the ones that are gonna really do the important things, they're the ones who are gonna make history. So don't be ashamed and don't be afraid, this is a time of incredible change and we do not need an officer Corps of careerists, and yes-men, and people that want to keep it going the way it's been because it changes rapidly, especially what you're doing.
Because believe it or not, you're in a, a business and profession where things change as rapidly like warfare, the type of warfare. Unfortunately we're getting to see it with Russia and Ukraine, and we're studying it and it's a very terrible thing to study. But we're seeing the different forms of warfare.
We're seeing the drones that are coming down at angles and with speed and with precision. We've never seen anything like it, we've never seen anything like it, and we're learning from it, but your profession changes very rapidly, you've gotta keep, you've gotta be at the top of it, you've gotta be right at the head of the needle.
We need Patriots with guts, and vision, and backbone who take personal risks to ensure that America wins every single time, we wanna win our battles. You know, I defeated ISIS in three weeks. They told me it would take five years, and the general that did it, you know that story, was named Razin Caine. His name is Dan Caine, but his nickname was Razin Caine.
I said, "Your name is Razin Caine, I love that, is that a nickname?" "That's what they call me, sir." "I love you General, I think you're the guy I am looking for, I want to know a guy named Razin Caine." And he is now the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he's a highly respected man, and we defeated, think of it, ISIS, they said, they said, "How long in Washington?" "Sir, it will take four years to defeat them, maybe five, and maybe we won't because they're all over the place." And then I met a man that said we can do it in three weeks, and he did it three weeks, and that's, uh, why he's the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff right now.
And, uh, we did things that nobody thought were possible. We've had great military success, when you have the right leader and you have the right people, and we have the right people, you're gonna have tremendous succ- -- success. Six, never lose your faith in America and the American people because they're always gonna be there for you.
I went through a very tough time with some very radicalized sick people, and I say, I was investigated more than the great late Alphonse Capone. Alphonse Capone was a monster, he was a very hardened criminal. I went through more investigations than Alphonse Capone, and now I'm talking to you as president, can you believe this?
Can you believe it? So you gotta fight hard, and you gotta never give up and don't let bad people take you down. You gotta let them, you gotta take them down. Got a lot of bad people out there and those people, you have to figure it out, but you also have a lot of great people. Finally, hold on to your culture and your traditions, because that's what makes something really great, and that's what's made the army great, the culture and the tradition.
Whether we're talking about a battalion, a business, a sports team, or even a nation, history has shown that in many ways culture is destiny. So do not let anyone destroy the culture of winning, you have to win. Winning is a beautiful thing, losing not for us, it's not for us, not for anybody here. If it was, you wouldn't be here.
From the earliest days of our nation, this supreme tradition of American military service has been passed down from soldier to soldier and generation to generation, and it's a beautiful thing to watch. Graduating today is Cadet Ricky McMahon. Ricky's great-grandfather, stand up wherever you are, Ricky, because you're gonna like this.
Ricky's great-grandfather served in World War I. His grandfather served in World War II, and his uncle, father and mother all graduated from West Point. Where is Ricky? In 2004, when Ricky was just a little, little tiny boy, who would think about that Ricky, a little tiny boy? His dad, Lieutenant Colonel Michael McMahon, made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation in Afghanistan.
Today, Lieutenant Colonel McMahon rests not far from here in the West Point Cemetery. Last year, two decades after losing his father, Ricky placed a gold chip from his dad's 1985 class ring into a crucible along 87 other rings were with it of past West Point grads that were melted down to forge those now worn by the class of 2025. Do you all know that?
Do you know that, what you're wearing? I want one. Ricky, I want one. Each of you will carry Michael's memory with you always as you continue the legacy he gave you. It gave you something that would be so proud, he would be so proud, he is proud as he looks down. To Ricky and his mom, Jeanette, you embody what this place is all about, and I know Michael, he's up there, he's smiling broadly.
So proud. He's so proud of you today, you know that. And, uh, he's a man that couldn't be, and he is a man that couldn't be more proud. And I want to just, uh, I just love that story. And everybody's ring, they're gonna remember you, they're gonna remember your family, and most importantly, you're gonna remember a great tradition.
It's a great tradition of West Point and of winners. Thank you very much. It's great to meet you. Thank you. You can sit down. You want to come up? If you want to come up, come up. Come on up. Come on up here. That's nice. A handsome guy. They're all good-looking here. I don't know what's going on. Uh, whole crowd is beautiful. Thank you very much.
I'd like to thank my mother, I'd like to thank my family, and I'd like to thank G-3. Go Gophers.
These are good-looking people, I'll tell you General, what's going on over [Inaudible]? Look like all a bunch of male models, I can't stand it. (laughs) For two and a half centuries, our republic has endured because of heroes like Michael. They've laid down their lives for America, and because young people like all of you have picked up the banner of service and carried forward the flag of freedom from Lexington to Yorktown, from Gettysburg to Sicily, and from Inchon to Fallujah, America has been won and saved by an unbroken chain of soldiers and patriots who ran to the sound of the guns, leapt into the maw of battle and charged into the crucible of fire to seize the crown of victory no matter the odds, no matter the cost, no matter the danger.
All over the world, our soldiers have made sacred the ground where they shed their blood and showed their valor. From Seminary Ridge to San Juan Hill, Belleau Wood, Omaha Beach, Leyte Gulf, and Ardennes Forest, Chosin Reservoir, all over. And even a place called Pork Chop Hill. And in all of those battles and so many more, some of the best, brightest and bravest have come from right here at the US Military Academy at West Point, one of the great enabled places anywhere in the world.
America's army has never failed us, and with leaders like the West Point class of 2025, the Army will never fail. We will never let you down. And over the last week, I had the honor of speaking to the heads of many countries and they would say, two weeks ago they say -- The 8th, they said, "Sir, we're celebrating the victory today of World War II." And I said, "Wow, that's nice." Then I'd call another one, unrelated. "Sir, we're celebrating the victory of World War II." Then I called up President of France on something also unrelated.
He said, "Sir, we're celebrating our victory over World War II." I said, "Well, whoa. What have we here?" We help them a lot. And I- I had this Russia, I talked to Putin about ending that terrible war that's going on. And he said they're having a big victory march. And they did lose, in all fairness, 51 million people.
But they were all celebrating. The only country that wasn't celebrating was the United States of America. And I said, isn't it amazing? We were the ones that won the war. And we were helped. We were helped. In some cases we had to help them, but we were helped by some of the nations, and we were strongly helped by a couple of them.
But every one of them was celebrating. They had Victory Day, they called it Victory Day in Europe, Victory Day all over. And we weren't even thought about, nobody had a Victory Day, and so I named that special day and another special day from now on as a holiday, but a holiday where we work because we don't have enough days.
We're going to be having so many holidays, we're not going to be able to work anymore. But I named it for World War II, and a separate day in November, as you know, for World War I. I said, you know, all of these countries that participated in the war are celebrating, but the greatest country of them all, and the country that won the war, nobody even talked about.
And so, we're going to be talking about it too from now on, and I think you'll appreciate it. We won the First World War. We won the Second World War, and you know where we won them from? Right here at West Point. West Point won the war. You won two world wars, and plenty of other things, but you want to think of it. We don't want to have a third world war, but we won the First World War.
We won the Second World War right here from West Point. And that's something, and we're gonna be talking about it. You know, they can talk about it, and in some cases, as you know, they didn't do too much to help. They were ground down, but they were celebrating victory. No, we're gonna celebrate victory because we're the ones that won that war.
Standing before you today, I know that you will never stop. You will never quit. You will never yield. You will never tire. You will never, ever, ever surrender. Never give up. Remember that. Never give up. That's another little factor I could have added. Never, ever give up. Raise your right hand. I pledge I will never, ever give up. You can never give up. You can never give up. If you do, you're not gonna be successful because you'll go through things that will be bad.
You're gonna have great moments, you're gonna have bad moments. You can never give up. Through every challenge and every battle, you'll stand strong, you'll work hard, you'll stay tough, and you will fight, fight, fight, and win, win, win. So, I wanna just congratulate you all. I'm going back now to deal with Russia, to deal with China. [Laughs] What's that- what's that all about?
I- I said that to- that to get you lots of victories. So, we're gonna keep winning. This country is gonna keep winning. And with you, the job is easy. I want to thank you all. Congratulations to the class of 2025. God bless you all. Incredible people. Thank you very much everybody.
Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, please remain standing for the presentation of the class gift.
The Class President, Cadet Katherine LaReau, will present a panoramic photo of the class of 2025 to the President.
President Trump, on behalf of the class of 2025, I would like to present you with this class photo as a token of appreciation for your inspiring words today. Thank you, sir.
Beautiful. That's fantastic. Thank you very much. Okay? Thank you very much. She stole it.
Class, attention. Class, pre cut. Class, present, arms. Class, attention. Re, cover. Present arms.
Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the departure of the President.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you.
From the occupant of the Oval Office.
The country isn't itself right now. It can hardly honor its fallen dead, while destroying the things they fought for.
Gerald Ford issued the following proclamation:
Proclamation 4375—Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, May 26, 1975
May 22, 1975
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
At the height of the Civil War, President Lincoln proclaimed at a battlefield cemetery "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain." Shortly after that tragic war, a day was set aside each year to honor those who gave their lives.
Over 100 years have passed since that simple but moving ceremony at Gettysburg. There have been many Memorial Days, and many more Americans have died in defense of what we believe in. As Thomas Paine said, "Those who would reap the blessings of freedom must . . . undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Today, because of the sacrifice and courage of American men and women, we are a free Nation at peace.
Let us dedicate ourselves today, and every day, to honoring those valiant Americans who died in service to their country. Let us gain strength from their sacrifice and devote ourselves to the peaceful pursuits which freedom allows and progress demands.
With faith in ourselves, future Memorial Days will find us still united in our purpose. Let us join together in working toward the greatest memorial we can construct for those who lay down their lives for us-a peace so durable that there will be no need for further sacrifices.
In recognition of those Americans to whom we pay tribute today, the Congress, by joint resolution of May 11, 1950 (64 Stat. 158), has requested that the President issue a Proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and to designate a period during that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer.
Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 1975, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11 o'clock in the morning of that day as a time to unite in prayer.
I urge all of America's news media to assist in this observance.
I direct that the flag of the United States be flown at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels of the Federal Government throughout the United States and all areas under its jurisdiction and control.
I also call upon the Governors of the fifty States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and appropriate officials of all local units of government to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on all public buildings during the customary forenoon period; and I request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the same period.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-ninth.
GERALD R. FORD
It was my father's 46th birthday.
As it was a day he didn't have to work, my guess is that we went fishing on the North Platte.
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The Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) was transferred from Rheims to Frankfurt-am-Main.
The Saturday Evening Post featured Norman Rockwell's "GI Homecoming" illustration that was soon used for a war bond poster. It features in one of Sarah Sundin's articles on her blog site, and this is directly linked into that:
Extremely poignant, there's a lot going on in the illustration, from the "girl next door" peeking around the corner, to the fact that the returning soldier is returning to an extremely urban, and not very attractive apartment building, something very common of urban life at the time.
The Berlin Philharmonic gave its first performance since the end of the war in Europe.
Allied forces occupied Bassein, Burma.
It was my father's 16th birthday.
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The Battle of Palonegro ended in a victory for the Conservative forces in Columbia's Thousand Day's War.
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Bobby Unser won the 1975 Indianapolis 500, which was halted after 435 miles due to a rainstorm. My father likely would have watched this on television.
There was a lunar eclipse.
I turned 12 years old, although I don't remember it. In 1975 we probably went to Mass the evening prior. As this was a Sunday in May, we may have gone fishing on the river during the day. We wouldn't have had a party or anything, but my parents would have gotten me a few gifts and likely my mother made some sort of a cake.
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The Battle of Odžak between Yugoslav (communist) partisans and the fascist Croatian Armed Forces ended in a Yugoslav partisan victory. Fighting ended in Europe.
The American armed forces Chiefs of Staff set November 1, 1945 as the start date for the invasion of Japan.
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The plot centers around a whirlwind romance of a soldier on leave and a woman he meets, taking place in 48 hours. They meet and marry in that time frame.
Suffice it to say, a marriage contracted that rapidly would be risky.
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The British captured the French village of Festubert.
China agreed to Japan's 21 Demands.
They were:
GROUP I
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, being desirous to maintain the general peace in the Far East and to strengthen the relations of amity and good neighbourhood existing between the two countries, agree to the following articles:
Article 1
The Chinese Government engage to give full assent to all matters that the Japanese Government may hereafter agree with the German Government respecting the disposition of all the rights, interests and concessions, which, in virtue of treaties or otherwise, Germany possesses vis-à-vis China in relation to the province of Shantung.
Article 2
The Chinese Government engage that, within the province of Shantung or along its coast, no territory or island will be ceded or leased to any other Power, under any pretext whatever.
Article 3
The Chinese Government agree to Japan's building a railway connecting Chefoo or Lungkow with the Kiaochou Tsinanfu Railway.
Article 4
The Chinese Government engage to open of their own accord, as soon as possible, certain important cities and towns in the Province of Shantung for the residence and commerce of foreigners. The places to be so opened shall be decided upon in a separate agreement.
GROUP II
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, in view of the fact that the Chinese Government has always recognized the predominant position of Japan in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, agree to the following articles:
Article 1
The two contracting Parties mutually agree that the term of the lease of Port Arthur and Dairen and the term respecting the South Manchuria Railway and the Antung-Mukden Railway shall be extended to a further period of 99 years respectively.
Article 2
The Japanese subjects shall be permitted in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia to lease or own land required either for erecting buildings for various commercial and industrial uses or for farming.
Article 3
The Japanese subjects shall have liberty to enter, reside, and travel in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, and to carry on business of various kinds commercial, industrial, and otherwise.
Article 4
The Chinese Government grant to the Japanese subjects the right of mining in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia. As regards the mines to be worked, they shall be decided upon in a separate agreement.
Article 5
The Chinese Government agree that the consent of the Japanese Government shall be obtained in advance:
(1) whenever it is proposed to grant to other nationals the right of constructing a railway or to obtain from other nationals the supply of funds for constructing a railway in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, and (2) whenever a loan is to be made with any other Power, under security of the taxes of South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia.
Article 6
The Chinese Government engage that whenever the Chinese Government need the service of political, financial, or military advisers or instructors in South Manchuria or in Eastern Inner Mongolia, Japan shall first be consulted.
Article 7
The Chinese Government agree that the control and management of the Kirin-Chungchun Railway shall be hand- ed over to Japan for a term of 99 years dating from the signing of this treaty.
GROUP III
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, having regard to the close relations existing between Japanese capitalists and the Han-Yeh-Ping Company and desiring to promote the common interests of the two nations, agree to the following articles:
Article 1
The two Contracting Parties mutually agree that when the opportune moment arrives the Han-YehPing Company shall be made a joint concern of the two nations, and that, without the consent of the Japanese Government, the Chinese Government shall not dispose or permit the Company to dispose of any right or property of the Company.
Article 2
The Chinese Government engage that, as a necessary measure for protection of the invested interests of Japanese capitalists, no mines in the neighbourhood of those owned by the Han-Yeh-Ping Company shall be permitted, without the consent of the said Company, to be worked by anyone other than the Said Company; and further that whenever it is proposed to take any other measure which may likely affect the interests of the said Company directly or indirectly, the consent of the said
Company shall first be obtained.
GROUP IV
The Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, with the object of effectively preserving the territorial integrity of China, agree to the following article: The Chinese Government engage not to cede or lease to any other Power any harbour or bay on or any island along the coast of China.
GROUP V
Article 1
The Chinese Central Government to engage influential Japanese as political, financial, and military advisers;
Article 2
The Chinese Government to grant the Japanese hospitals, temples, and schools in the interior of China the right to own land;
Article 3
In the face of many police disputes which have hitherto arisen between Japan and China, causing no little annoyance the police in localities (in China), where such arrangement: are necessary, to be placed under joint Japanese and Chinese administration, or Japanese to be employed in police office in such localities, so as to help at the same time the improvement of the Chinese Police Service;
Article 4
China to obtain from Japan supply of a certain quantity of arms, or to establish an arsenal in China under joint Japanese and Chinese management and to be supplied with experts and materials from Japan;
Article 5
In order to help the development of the Nanchang-Kiukiang Railway, with which Japanese capitalists are so closely identified, and with due regard to the negotiations which have been pending between Japan and China in relation to the railway question in South China, China to agree to give to Japan the right of constructing a railway to connect Wuchang with the Kiukiang-Nanchang and Hangchou and between Nanchang and Chaochou;
Article 6
In view of the relations between the Province of Fukien and Formosa and of the agreement respecting the non-alienation of that province, Japan to be consulted first when- ever foreign capital is needed in connection with the railways, mines, and harbour works (including dockyards) in the Province ofFukien;
Article 7
China to grant to Japanese subjects the right of preaching in China.
Japanese Ultimatum to China, 7 May 1915
The reason why the Imperial Government opened the present negotiations with the Chinese Government is first to endeavour to dispose of the complications arising out of the war between Japan and China, and secondly to attempt to solve those various questions which are detrimental to the intimate relations of China and Japan with a view to solidifying the foundation of cordial friendship subsisting between the two countries to the end that the peace of the Far East may be effectually and permanently preserved. With this object in view, definite proposals were presented to the Chinese Government in January of this year, and up to today as many as twenty-five conferences have been held with the Chinese Government in perfect sincerity and frankness.
In the course of negotiations the Imperial Government have consistently explained the aims andobjects of the proposals in a conciliatory spirit, while on the other hand the proposals of the Chinese Government, whether important or unimportant, have been attended to without any reserve.
It may be stated with confidence that no effort has been spared to arrive at a satisfactory and amicable settlement of those questions.
The discussion of the entire corpus of the proposals was practically at an end at the twenty-fourth conference; that is on the 17th of the last month.
The Imperial Government, taking a broad view of the negotiation and in consideration of the points raised by the Chinese Government, modified the original proposals with considerable concessions and presented to the Chinese Government on the 26th of the same month the revised proposals for agreement, and at the same time it was offered that, on the acceptance of the revised proposals, the Imperial Government would, at a suitable opportunity, restore, with fair and proper conditions, to the Chinese Government the Kiaochow territory, in the acquisition of which the Imperial Government had made a great sacrifice.
On the first of May, the Chinese Government delivered the reply to the revised proposals of the Japanese Government, which is contrary to the expectations of the Imperial Government. The Chinese Government not only did not give a careful consideration to the revised proposals but even with regard to the offer of the Japanese Government to restore Kiaochow to the Chinese Government the latter did not manifest the least appreciation for Japan's good will and difficulties.
From the commercial and military point of view Kiaochow is an important place, in the acquisition of which the Japanese Empire sacrificed much blood and money, and, after the acquisition the Empire incurs no obligation to restore it to China. But with the object of increasing the future friendly relations of the two countries, they went to the extent of proposing its restoration, yet to her great regret, the Chinese Government did not take into consideration the good intention of Japan and manifest appreciation of her difficulties.
Furthermore, the Chinese Government not only ignored the friendly feelings of the Imperial Government in offering the restoration of Kiaochow Bay, but also in replying to the revised proposals they even demanded its unconditional restoration; and again China demanded that Japan should bear the responsibility of paying indemnity for all the unavoidable losses and damages resulting from
Japan's military operations at Kiaochow; and still further in connection with the territory of Kiaochow China advanced other demands and declared that she has the right of participation at the future peace conference to be held between Japan and Germany. Although China is fully aware that the unconditional restoration of Kiaochow and Japan's responsibility of indemnification for the unavoidable losses and damages can never be tolerated by Japan, yet she purposely advanced these demands and declared that this reply was final and decisive. Since Japan could not tolerate such demands the settlement of the other questions, however compromising it may be, would not be to her interest. The consequence is that the present reply of the Chinese Government is, on the whole, vague and meaningless.
Furthermore, in the reply of the Chinese Government to the other proposals in the revised list of the Imperial Government, such as South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, where Japan particularly has geographical, commercial, industrial and strategic relations, as recognized by all nations, and made more remarkable in consequence of the two wars in which Japan was engaged, the Chinese Government overlooks these facts and does not respect Japan's position in that place. The Chinese Government even freely altered those articles which the Imperial Government, in a compromising spirit, have formulated in accordance with the statement of the Chinese Representatives, thereby making the statements of the Representatives an empty talk; and on seeing them conceding with the one hand and withholding with the other it is very difficult to attribute faithfulness and sincerity to the Chinese authorities.
As regards the articles relating to the employment of advisers, the establishment of schools and hospitals, the supply of arms and ammunition and the establishment of arsenals and railway concessions in South China in the revised proposals, they were either proposed with the proviso that the consent of the Power concerned must be obtained, or they are merely to be recorded in the minutes in accordance with the statements of the Chinese delegates, and thus they are not in the least in conflict either with Chinese sovereignty or her treaties with the Foreign Powers, yet the Chinese Government in their reply to the proposals, alleging that these proposals are incompatible with their sovereign rights and treaties with Foreign Powers, defeat the expectations of the Imperial Government.
However, in spite of such attitude of the Chinese Government, the Imperial Government, though regretting to see that there is no room for further negotiations, yet warmly attached to the preservation of the peace of the Far East, is still hoping for a satisfactory settlement in order to avoid the disturbance of the relations.
So in spite of the circumstances which admitted no patience, they have reconsidered the feelings of the Government of their neighbouring country and, with the exception of the article relating to Fukien which is to be the subject of an exchange of notes as has already been agreed upon by the Representatives of both nations, will undertake to detach the Group V from the present negotiations and discuss it separately in the future. Therefore, the Chinese Government should appreciate the friendly feelings of the Imperial Government by immediately accepting without any alteration all the articles of Groups I, II, III, and IV and the exchange of notes in connection with Fukien province in Group V as contained in the revised proposals presented on the 26th of April. The Imperial Government hereby again offer their advice and hope that the Chinese Government, upon this advice, will give a satisfactory reply by 6 o'clock P.M. on the 9th day of May. It is hereby declared that if no satisfactory reply is received before or at the specified time, the Imperial Government will take steps they may deem necessary.
Explanatory Note
Accompanying Ultimatum delivered to the Minister of Foreign Affairs by the Japanese Minister, May 7th, 1915.
1. With the exception of the question of Fukien to be arranged by an exchange of notes, the five articles postponed for later negotiation refer to (a) the employment of advisers, (b) the establishment of schools and hospitals, (c) the railway concessions in South China, (d) the supply of arms and ammunition and the establishment of arsenals and (e) right of missionary propaganda.
2. The acceptance by the Chinese Government of the article relating to Fukien may be either in the form as proposed by the Japanese Minister on the 26th of April or in that contained in the Reply of the Chinese Government of May 1st. Although the Ultimatum calls for the immediate acceptance by China of the modified proposals presented on April 26th, without alteration, but it should be noted that it merely states the principle and does not apply to this article and articles 4 and 5 of this note.
3. If the Chinese Government accept all the articles as demanded in the Ultimatum the offer of the Japanese Government to restore Kiaochow to China, made on the 26th of April, will still hold good.
4. Article 2 of Group II relating to the lease or purchase of land, the terms "lease" and "purchase" may be replaced by the terms "temporary lease" and "perpetual lease" or "lease on consultation," which means a long-term lease with its unconditional renewal.
Article IV of Group II relating to the approval of police laws and ordinances and local taxes by the Japanese Council may form the subject of a secret agreement.
5. The phrase "to consult with the Japanese Government" in connection with questions of pledging the local taxes for raising loans and the loans for the construction of railways, in Eastern Inner Mongolia, which is similar to the agreement in Manchuria relating to the matters of the same kind, may be replaced by the phrase "to consult with the Japanese capitalists."
The article relating to the opening of trade marts in Eastern Inner Mongolia in respect to location and regulations, may, following their precedent set in Shantung, be the subject of an exchange of notes.
6. From the phrase "those interested in the Company" in Group III of the revised list of demands, the words "those interested in" may be deleted.
7. The Japanese version of the Formal Agreement and its annexes shall be the official text or both the Chinese and Japanese shall be the official texts.
Chinese Reply to Japanese Ultimatum, 8 May 1915
On the 7th of this month, at three o'clock P.M., the Chinese Government received an Ultimatum from the Japanese Government together with an Explanatory Note of seven articles. The Ultimatum concluded with the hope that the Chinese Government by six o'clock P.M. on the 9th of May will give a satisfactory reply, and it is hereby declared that if no satisfactory reply is received before or at the specified time, the Japanese Government will take steps she may deem necessary.
The Chinese Government with a view to preserving the peace of the Far East hereby accepts, with the exception of those five articles of Group V postponed for later negotiations, all the articles of Groups I, II, III, and IV and the exchange of notes in connection with Fukien Province in Group V as contained in the revised proposals presented on the 26th of April, and in accordance with the Explanatory Note of seven articles accompanying the Ultimatum of the Japanese Government with the hope that thereby all the outstanding questions are settled, so that the cordial relationship between the two countries may be further consolidated.
The Japanese Minister is hereby requested to appoint a day to call at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make the literary improvement of the text and sign the Agreement as soon as possible.
Russia, China and Mongolia signed the Treaty of Kyakhta which recognized the autonomy of Outer Mongolia.
The Asquith coalition ministry, a national wartime coalition government to lead Great Britain, went into effect. Irish leader John Redmond chose not to join.
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