[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   ADDRESS OF AMBASSADOR F. HAYDN WILLIAMS AT THE DEDICATION OF THE 
 AMERICAN WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL, SAIPAN, COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN 
                                MARIANAS

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 19, 1994

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues' attention to this 
excellent speech by Ambassador F. Haydn Williams, the main force behind 
the creation of the American World War II Memorial in Saipan, 
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. With this memorial, Ambassador 
Williams has done a noble service to the men who fought and died in the 
battle for Saipan 50 years ago. Ambassador Williams' eloquent words 
tell the incredible story of the critical Pacific front of the final 
surge of the war. I commend Ambassador Williams for his commitment to 
bringing recognition to the 1944 Marianas campaign and to all those who 
contributed to its ultimate victory.

Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of World War II--Keynote Address: 
Ambassador F. Haydn Williams--Dedication of the American WWII Memorial 
      Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, June 15, 1994

                    ``All Gave Some--Some Gave All''

       We are gathered here this morning to pay our respect, to 
     salute and to say a humble thank you to the veterans of the 
     1944 Marianas Campaign who are with us on this historic 
     occasion. We remember, also, with reverence and sadness, the 
     fallen, those whose names are inscribed on the walls of the 
     above Court of Honor--and--forever in the hearts of a 
     grateful nation.
       In the battles for Saipan, Tinian and the accompanying 
     decisive naval and air engagements at sea 50 years ago, all 
     of the American servicemen--the Marines of the 2nd and 4th 
     Divisions, the Soldiers of the 27th Infantry Division, the 
     Sailors of the Fifth Fleet, Carrier Task Force 58, the 
     Amphibious Landing Force, the Coast Guard and the Army Air 
     Corps Seventh Air Force--all contributed and shared in the 
     victories won. Yes, all gave some, and some gave all.
       These men, these veterans who are with us today came here 
     in the bright morning of their lives. They came from all over 
     America, from our towns, our cities, our farms, our 
     mountains, our broad valleys and plains. All of them helped 
     the forces of freedom prevail in a life and death struggle, a 
     struggle which changed the course of history.
       Bold in concept and execution, Operation Forager in the 
     pacific, like Operation Overload in Europe, marked a 
     significant turning point in the Second World War. Hitler's 
     Atlantic Wall was first broken in France. Japan's inner home 
     island defense perimeter was first penetrated in the 
     Marianas. Simultaneously, on the beaches of Normandy and 
     Saipan in June of 1944, the United States, in concert with 
     the armed forces of its Allies, began the War's last 
     chapter--the final surge leading to the unconditional 
     surrender of the Axis Powers.
       The successful storming of the Omaha and Utah beachheads in 
     France, followed by D- Day on Saipan, were accomplishments of 
     sheer will, and personal bravery of legendary proportions. 
     Taken together, these two massive amphibious operations, 
     oceans apart, were the greatest military effort ever put 
     forth by the United States, or any other nation, at one 
     time, in the annals of military and naval history.
       D-Day in the Pacific has been greatly overshadowed by the 
     recent heavy media and other attention given to Normandy. But 
     make no mistake about it, the name Saipan and the sacrifices 
     made here by those who fought foot to foot, from one end of 
     this island to the other, are sacrifices that are forever 
     interwoven in the tapestry of the free world's response to 
     the challenge of the forces of aggression and oppression 
     which threatened the whole world half a century ago.
       Let us not forget that the outcome of WWII was not a given. 
     It remained long in doubt. Indeed, the fate of the free world 
     was just as much on the line here in the Marianas, as it was 
     at the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, St. Lo and Caen in Normandy. 
     Only as a result of the collective valor of the veterans 
     assembled here, and that of their comrades-in-arms elsewhere 
     in the Pacific and Europe, supported by a strong and united 
     home front, do we today breath the sweet air of freedom.
       In the American WWII cemeteries in Nettuno in Italy, in 
     Colleville-sur-mer in Normandy and the War in the Pacific 
     Cemeteries in Hawaii and the Philippines, lie tens and tens 
     of thousands of Americans in marked graves. Others lie row 
     after silent row, with only the inscription, ``Here rests in 
     honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God.'' Did they 
     die in vain? Was the price they paid worth it? The judgment 
     of history, tested by time, is that they saved the world, 
     that the victorious allied forces gave freedom yet another 
     chance to build the means for the maintenance of global peace 
     and security--to allow us the freedom we enjoy today.
       President Clinton Normandy mentioned the debt owed to the 
     veterans of the Pacific War as well as those engaged in the 
     European theater. Speaking of his generation, he said, ``we 
     are the children of your sacrifice,'' and that the young 
     people of today should be taught about, ``the villainy that 
     started WWII and valor that ended it.'' He touched, time and 
     again, on the need for Americans to remember their history, 
     stating that too many Americans do not know what the 
     generation of WWII veterans did for their country and the 
     cause of human liberty around the world.
       Let us together remember that out of the carnage of WWII 
     emerged the United Nations. Imperfect as it is, reflecting 
     the imperfections of its members, this international body 
     still remains today a ray of hope for a more humane, peaceful 
     and just society of nations.
       Let us also not forget that the UN Trusteeship System, 
     under which Micronesia came of age, was also an outgrowth of 
     WWII. It was the result of an American initiative to place 
     the former League of Nations mandates and former colonies 
     under new provisions and principles based on the right of the 
     people of each trusteeship to eventually determine their own 
     political future.
       Here in the Northern Marianas, while destruction and 
     devastation still marked the islands landscape, the first 
     glimmerings of modern self-government began to appear under 
     the Naval Administration. Progressively, this process led to 
     greater and greater self rule under the Trust Territory 
     Government, culminating in the status negotiations and the 
     1975 plebescite approving the Commonwealth Covenant. It 
     should not be forgotten that those who fought here 50 years 
     ago opened this path to self-determination and self-
     government. Freedom was their gift to the people of the 
     Northern Marianas, paid for with their own blood.
       With peace, the gradual healing of the wounds of war began. 
     A new U.S.-Japanese relationship emerged based on a liberal 
     occupation policy, a more democratic Japan, and a desire on 
     the part of Tokyo to take its place among those nations of 
     the world dedicated to peace, justice and freedom. Evolving 
     security interests strengthened further the bonds of 
     cooperation and mutual trust between the two war-time 
     enemies. Today, U.S.-Japanese ties form the world's most 
     important bilateral relationship.
       Let me turn now to the American Memorial Park. The public 
     use of the 133 acres that comprise these Park grounds stemmed 
     from the desire of the United States to remember those who 
     fell in combat here and in the waters surrounding these 
     islands. The Park also memorializes the indigenous victims of 
     the invasion, those who in innocence, lost their lives in the 
     searing crossfire of the invading and defending forces.
       As an integral part of the larger Tanapag Harbor lease, 
     negotiated for contingency military use, the U.S. proposed 
     that the majority of the 197 acres leased and paid for by the 
     Department of Defense per the terms of the Covenant, be set 
     aside as a living memorial to the war dead. The original plan 
     for the Park was unveiled by the United States on Memorial 
     Day 1974 at Micro Beach. The plan called for an amphitheater, 
     a memorial marina, athletic facilities, an aquatic center, 
     and an arboretum and tropical garden within the Park's 
     boundaries. This concept was greeted with enthusiasm by the 
     Mariana negotiators, and those who signed the Covenant can 
     rightfully be called the founders of the Park
       It was intended that these grounds be a meeting place for 
     young and old, a common area for civic events, for the 
     celebration of local and national holidays, for recreation, 
     competitive sports and family outings. It was felt that an 
     active use of the Park--giving it a vibrant, living quality--
     would meet with the approval of the G.I's who fought and died 
     here. The point was to give the future American citizens of 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas a vested interest 
     in the use of this military leased land, a place for bonding, 
     where shared interests could come together for the common 
     good.
       Twenty years later the Park's full potential is yet to be 
     realized. It can be further transformed into a thing of even 
     greater beauty and utility for the enjoying of generations to 
     come. It is a bright jewel, an open space, an oasis amidst 
     surrounding commercial and industrial development. Its use 
     needs disciplined policies, loving care and imaginative 
     planning. Under the aegis of the National Park Service and 
     its mandate, such planning in cooperation with the 
     Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas can go forward.
       The new U.S. Memorial stands before us as the centerpiece 
     of the Park. It is not finished, nor is the memorial entrance 
     and mall, and the defining boundary treatment called for by 
     the 103rd Congress. Given the short lead-time, what has been 
     accomplished here to date is a miracle. That the berm, the 
     steps, the Court of Honor, the Flag Circle and the 
     surrounding Memorial Wall of inscriptions are in place is a 
     tribute to the ingenuity and hard work of all who have been 
     involved in this worthwhile endeavor. They are to be 
     commended, especially Governor Froilan Tenorio who saw the 
     completion of the Memorial not as a local issue but rather a 
     national imperative.
       With the ``go'' signal, the building of the Memorial 
     became, overnight, a high priority spirited team effort. 
     Working at times around the clock, those who said it couldn't 
     be done were proven wrong. The architects in San Francisco, 
     the engineers, the public works people, the earth movers, the 
     construction and cement contractors, the landscapers, the 
     signage specialists, the shippers all got on the same fast 
     track. All kept deadlines in mind; all delivered. Faxed 
     progress reports reached me in Rome, Paris and Normandy, with 
     each ending with the promise that the flags would be raised 
     for the Veterans as scheduled on D-Day on Saipan. There they 
     are. The promise was kept.
       This morning on these shores, on American soil on the 
     westward edge of the United States, our National and Service 
     Flags--the colors under which the men we honor today fought 
     and died--fly proudly as a visible symbol, as a beacon of 
     freedom for all to see. From the dawn's early light to the 
     last red gleaming of a Saipan sunset, as we see these Service 
     flags streaming and snapping in the wind, let us be reminded 
     that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and that our 
     National Flag is the embodiment, not of mere sentiment, but 
     of our history as a free people.
       Veterns, this is your day. You are the ones we salute. Let 
     me close now with the words of a citizen of the Commonwealth 
     of the Northern Marianas, a former Senator from Rota, Joseph 
     S. Inos, who said, ``This memorial will, for all time, stand 
     for the sacrifice of thousands of young men from an alien 
     country who came to our shores to set us free. Most had never 
     heard of us or our islands. But, nevertheless, they died for 
     us. When they came ashore on June 15, 1944, charging through 
     manmade hell beyond description and imagination, it marked 
     the beginning of a new era. The seeds of our Commonwealth 
     were born. For us to forget, for us not to honor the gift of 
     life given us by the blood, pain and death of those marines 
     and soldiers, would be a disgraceful and shameless act.''--
     end quote.
       The fallen here have not been forgotten--and neither have 
     the living veterans. The evidence of this is all around you, 
     and each one of you takes away from this battleground of 50 
     years ago the gratitude of a grateful Island, the respect of 
     your Country, your Service, and the admiration and affection 
     of all gathered here this morning for the dedication of this 
     Memorial in the honor of your fallen comrades.

                          ____________________