[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 36 (Friday, March 25, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, March 25, 1994, marks the 173d anniversary 
of the beginning of the revolution which freed the Greek people from 
the Ottoman Empire. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate this, 
the Greek day of independence.
  Throughout this century, Greece has proven to be an ally of the 
United States. More than 600,000 Greeks or 9 percent of the population 
of Greece died fighting for the allied cause in World War II.
  Greeks and Americans also share a common intellectual and ideological 
heritage. The American ideals of democracy and majority rule were 
taught by philosophers in Greece as far back as 370 B.C. Thomas 
Jefferson once said that: ``to the ancient Greeks * * * we are all 
indebted for the light which led ourselves out of Gothic darkness.'' It 
is an historical irony that having established independence from the 
Ottoman Empire in the 1820's, the Greek people then turned to the 
American system as a model for the establishment of their Government in 
modern times. The American Declaration of Independence was translated 
into Greek and used as a model for the Greek version of this document.
  During the early 1900's, 1 in every 4 Greek males between the ages of 
15 and 45 emigrated to the United States carrying with them a culture 
rich in the tradition and history. They and their descendants went on 
to be active participants in their American communities, States, and 
nation. It is on behalf of Greek-Americans living in my State and 
across the country that I make this tribute to our Greek heritage on 
March 25, 1994, Greek Independence Day.

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