[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 28, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     HONORING ``TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER'' ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS

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                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 28, 1994

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to honor four outstanding students from Crispell Middle School in my 
district who were the winners of the ``Tomb of an Unknown Soldier'' 
essay contest. The contest asked the eighth graders why they would want 
to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on behalf of the 
school. Although all of the essays received for the contest were 
excellent, the essays of Julie Nickerson, Harry Steinhilber, Robin 
Meade, and John Tobin were truly superb.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the full text of the essays at this point in 
the Congressional Record as a tribute to these Crispell Middle School 
students:
       Just going to Washington, DC, as an eighth grader is 
     wonderful. Now the Crispell Middle School is allowed to lay a 
     wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Now that is an 
     honor!
       Laying this wreath isn't just something anyone should do. 
     It should be one who wants it for the right reasons. I 
     wouldn't be laying this wreath for me it would be for all the 
     families and friends that don't have any idea whether their 
     grandparents, parents, siblings, spouses, or children are 
     dead. It would be in dedication to the people that weren't 
     getting the respect that they deserved until now. I know that 
     if a member of my family or one of my friends went off to war 
     and I never saw or heard from them again not one day would go 
     by without thinking where and how they had died or if they 
     are still living and being held prisoner.
       Every day I make a decision about what I'm going to wear or 
     how I'm going to do my hair, then when I sit and think about 
     all the people who died to give me the freedom to make those 
     choices myself and I can't give them the credit they deserve.
       Then I stopped and asked myself why I feel it would be such 
     an honor to place the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown 
     Soldier. So I thought about my father going off to war and I 
     felt a hand around my heart. Then I imagined receiving news 
     that he was missing in action and that hand around my heart 
     started squeezing. Next my family and I received news his 
     body was not recovered and possibly never will be. That hand 
     was like a vise grip around my heart, squeezing so hard I 
     could hardly breathe. I watched the sadness and despair 
     encircling my family but there was always a glimmer of hope. 
     Perhaps they were wrong. Maybe my father was not dead, 
     perhaps he would walk through that kitchen door and pick me 
     up and toss me in the air like he used to.
       I imagine now that many years have passed and I have a 
     family of my own. A son old enough to join the army. My 
     father never walked through that door, never tossed me in the 
     air, and his body was never returned to us. That hand is 
     still around my heart not squeezing as hard or as tight, but 
     still there.
       So after my fantasy, I decided it's not only an honor for 
     me to place the wreath, but an honor to all those soldiers, 
     parents, grandparents, children, siblings, and spouses, who 
     lived and suffered through the reality of my fantasy.
       Fom this day on when I'm deciding what to wear and how to 
     do my hair, I will also think about all the soldiers of the 
     unknown tomb and their families and say a prayer.--By Julie 
     Nickerson.
       We live at a time when our men and women in the Armed 
     Forces serve over seas and fight for freedoms that we hold 
     dear to our heart.
       Television brings the fighting into our living room and it 
     becomes as common place as Nintendo. Unfortunately these are 
     real men and women putting their lives on the line, not just 
     for people at home to remain free but for the oppressed 
     people of the world.
       Many people die in war and are honored for their heroism.
       In todays technology my generation tends to loose sight of 
     history. Television shows it all, war becomes just another 
     day.
       I would like the honor of representing my school and place 
     the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. These 
     Soldiers gave the great sacrifice, dying for their country. 
     Unfortunately their names were lost. By placing a wreath on 
     this tomb not only do we honor these great men, but all who 
     died serving their country valiantly and those who continue 
     to do so today.
       In closing I would like to say, in placing this wreath, I 
     feel it will help bring the reality of freedom and the 
     importance of peace back into the foreground not only for 
     myself but for my fellow students.--By Harry Steinhilber.
       To place a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier in 
     Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington Virginia would be a 
     great honor for anyone. The tomb, a simple structure made of 
     white marble is engraved with the not so simple phrase, 
     ``Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known only 
     to God.''
       The soldiers who were buried in the tomb are buried there 
     for more of a reason than the fact that they were not able to 
     be identified. They are buried there as representatives of 
     all the people who lost their life fighting for our country. 
     My first thought about the soldiers was they were just that, 
     soldiers who gave their all for us, but when I thought about 
     it longer the reality came to me. These people were more than 
     soldiers, they were fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, 
     neighbors, and in some unusual cases mothers, and sisters. 
     They were people who gave their own life to make better ones 
     for others. I feel in giving a wreath in honor of them is 
     like saying thank you for allowing me to be free, for 
     allowing me to have friends of any color or race, and most 
     all thank you for allowing me to be alive.
       This is why it is so important to me to be chosen to have 
     the great honor of placing the wreath on the tomb of the 
     unknown soldier.--By Robin Meade.
       One of the reasons I would like to bring the wreath up to 
     the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers is because it would be such 
     an honor to represent my school in our nation's capitol.
       I would feel like I was doing something for my country; I 
     would have the honor to do something that our country's 
     President does.
       Another reason I would feel honored is because I have had 
     grandfathers in WW II, uncles in Korea and my father was in 
     Vietnam.
       Ever since November 11, 1921, that monument has been there 
     for all the soldiers in our country's wars who were never 
     identified or found, somewhere their families can go to mourn 
     in memory of their loved ones that were never brought back 
     from fighting for their country.
       Those are the reasons why I would like to bring the wreath 
     from our school to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.--By John 
     Tobin.

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