[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E537-E538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     TRIBUTE TO JAMES W. GALLAGHER

                                 ______


                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 1995
  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an 
outstanding constituent, James W. Gallagher, for his service to the 
Nation and Delaware County, PA.
  A resident of Newtown Square, PA, Mr. Gallagher is well known and 
highly regarded by many people throughout our community for his 
selfless charitable contributions. A graduate of the University of 
Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Jim has 
remained dedicated to his country as an active historian, by preserving 
our patriotic history like no other.
  Jim is best known throughout the region and the Nation as his alter 
ego, ``George Washington.'' As vice-president of the Washington 
Crossing Foundation, Jim portrays George Washington as the principal 
speaker at the Nationwide Bell Ringing Ceremony sponsored by the 
Pennsylvania Society at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Jim portrays 
our first President every Christmas in the reenactment of Gen. George 
Washington's historic journey during the Revolutionary War. He has 
promoted the legacy of George Washington by appearing in many parades 
and in our Nation's Capitol in costume.
  Jim, like many throughout our great Nation, has worked to overturn 
the Supreme Court's decision of 5 years ago that ruled people who burn 
American flags are entitled to legal protection under the first 
amendment's provisions regarding free speech. As cosponsor of the flag 
protection amendment, I am gratified the amendment has been 
reintroduced and is gaining wide support among Members.
  As a member of the General Society Sons of the Revolution, Jim 
published an eloquent and inspirational piece entitled ``Freedom is a 
Light for Which Many Men had Died in Darkness.'' I would like to submit 
this article for the record so that my colleagues can appreciate Jim's 
keen insight. It is my hope that those who read it will be inspired as 
I was to reflect upon our rich historic roots.
  I have been honored to work with Jim and am pleased to call him a 
friend. He deserves our recognition and continued support. I ask the 
Members of the House to join me in honoring this outstanding American.
      Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Men Have Died in Darkness

                        (By James W. Gallagher)

       Independence Day is a day to remember what transpired here 
     218 years ago. In July 1776 John Adams wrote a letter to his 
     wife, Abigail, in Massachusetts. He wanted her to know about 
     an important vote that he had just cast in Philadelphia as a 
     member of the Continental Congress. The subject of his letter 
     was the passage that day of something 
     [[Page E538]] that we now call the Declaration of 
     Independence. Adams wrote his wife that a single day in July 
     1776 would be honored ``as the most memorable day in the 
     history of America.''
       That is a remarkable prediction to make about a nation that 
     did not even exist then, that first had to free itself from 
     the control of the world's most powerful country. Other 
     predictions that Adams wrote to his wife about a special day 
     in July 1776 were right on target, too. In his letter he 
     said, ``It will be celebrated by succeeding generations as a 
     great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with 
     pomp and parades, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, 
     bonfires and illuminations . . . from one end of the 
     continent to the other . . . from this time forward . . . 
     forever more.''
       John Adams got only one major detail wrong in his amazing 
     prediction--he had the wrong date.
       He wrote his wife that he could foresee those parades and 
     fireworks happening every year on July Second. That is 
     because it was on July 2, 1776 that the Continental Congress, 
     meeting in secret session, actually voted on the Declaration 
     of Independence. Two days later, on July 4, the delegates to 
     the Continental Congress signed the Declaration. Also on that 
     day they came out of their secret session and showed the 
     world what they had done.
       Does that mean we are wrong in celebrating July Fourth? 
     Should we be having Second of July picnics and Second of July 
     fireworks? No.
       Most legal documents take effect when they are signed and 
     July Fourth is the day when signatures were put on a draft of 
     that incredible document written by Thomas Jefferson.
       Many historians will tell you it is not because of the 
     signatures that we use July 4 as the official birthday of our 
     country. It is because that is the day people first heard 
     about the Declaration of Independence. In this country the 
     people count. What is important is the involvement of the 
     people in managing their own affairs, not governmental bodies 
     making decisions in secret. For most of human history--and 
     even in large parts of the world today--that is still a 
     revolutionary idea.
       We should remember every July Fourth that the rights we 
     often take for granted do not come easily or automatically. 
     Those rights are re-purchased by each generation, often at a 
     terrible price.
       Nearby we have the graves of some of our Revolutionary War 
     dead. They know that freedom is not free since they paid with 
     their very lives. On the tombstone [of the Unknown Soldier in 
     Washington Square] is the inscription ``Freedom is a Light 
     for Which Many Men Have Died in Darkness.''
       Fifty years ago today the beachhead at Normandy was not 
     quite a month old. Nearly a million men and women from the 
     United States, Great Britain and our wartime allies had 
     landed there. They were beginning to spread out from that 
     small foothold in northern France and each mile of liberated 
     Europe demanded a high price in human lives and suffering. 
     Many terrible struggles were still ahead of the U.S. military 
     50 years ago today during World War II.
       Today our enemies are harder to identify, but they are out 
     there. Our commitment to the men and women in uniform should 
     be as strong today as it was 50 years ago. History has taught 
     us the best way to avoid war is to be better prepared than 
     any adversary. Vigilance is also the watchword in our 
     domestic life. Even the best of governments can forget that 
     government is the servant of the people and that the people 
     should never be the servant of government.
       Just five years ago the Supreme Court ruled that people who 
     burn American flags are entitled to legal protection under 
     the First Amendment's provisions safeguarding free speech. 
     This decision outraged many Americans who see the flag as a 
     sacred symbol of the country, as a symbol of our values that 
     ought to be respected and, especially, as a symbol of the 
     brave sacrifices of our men and women in wartime. We want to 
     amend the Constitution to allow the states and the federal 
     government to enact laws prohibiting physical desecration of 
     the flag. If it is in the Constitution then the courts cannot 
     rule it unconstitutional.
       ``Old Glory'' is precious to me. So is the idea that 
     government should be answerable to the people. We hear more 
     these days about the search for values in America. Some of us 
     do not have to look very far to find values. We start with 
     devotion to God, love of country and respect for the flag. 
     These are solid foundations upon which this country has been 
     built and they are foundations upon which we can grow. If we 
     need to find values, we can start with the values laid down 
     218 years ago in that remarkable document we honor today, the 
     Declaration of Independence. It says: ``We hold these truths 
     to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they 
     are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights 
     that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of 
     Happiness. That to secure these rights governments are 
     instituted.''
       That is still the best statement of who we are as a people, 
     what we hold dear and what we will fight to preserve.
       God Bless America.
       

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