Message from the chairman and president

January 1, 2005| By Ed Feulner

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Message from the chairman and president

“The Heritage Foundation stands for what we fought for and what you’re fighting for today.”—D-Day veteran Lt. Lynn D. “Buck” Compton, speaking about the war in Iraq, during a May 3 lecture marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.

The world has changed radically since Buck Compton and the rest of “the greatest generation” defeated the Nazi menace and Japanese imperialism 60 years ago. Yet much has stayed the same.

Compton and his band of brothers were fighting to defend innocent lives and bring freedom to people oppressed by tyranny. In 2005, the grandchildren of those troops—including our own Steve Kiel—were doing the same in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There are similarities between 1945 and 2005 on the home front, too. After 1945, Secretary of State George C. Marshall developed a comprehensive plan to rebuild a Europe devastated by six years of war. Sixty years later, President Bush and others—including The Heritage Foundation—are developing plans for rebuilding Iraq and the hurricane-damaged Gulf Coast.

Buck Compton and his comrades 60 years ago have done much to keep the ideals of freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society alive. As an institution, Heritage strives to emulate them. We hope our efforts in 2005 made them—and you—proud.
 
Sincerely,

David R. Brown
Chairman, Board of Trustees

Edwin J. Feulner
President