Speeches
July 4th Celebration
by Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold
Sembawang
July 5th, 2008
Thank you, Admiral Tyson. Thank you all for coming out today to celebrate the 232nd birthday of the United States. The American community in Singapore is over eighteen thousand strong, and it looks like many of them are here tonight! I'm always particularly delighted to see many of our Singaporean friends at this event, as well. To me, that demonstrates the friendship and partnership between our two countries better than anything we could say up here. I also want to thank the American Association and the U.S. Navy, and all the sponsors and volunteers who helped put this terrific event together. They have done a marvelous job, as they do every year. This is my third and last Sembawang 4th of July, and I have enjoyed them all tremendously, as I'm sure all of you are doing tonight.
I've found that the last few months have been an interesting time to be an American overseas. Many of you have probably had the same experience I have over the last few months: wherever I go, I'm constantly asked, "Who will win the election?" While I don't dare predict who might win in November, I am very proud of how this election season has revealed our country's dynamic and exciting democracy to the world, and I'm sure that all the American citizens here tonight share that feeling.
Thank you all for making the trip up to Sembawang today to celebrate America’s 232nd birthday. To all of America's friends here tonight, I wish each of you a very happy Independence Day.