[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 70 (Monday, May 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          CORRECTING CNN'S STATEMENTS ABOUT THE NATIONAL GUARD

  (Mr. MONTGOMERY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Madam Speaker, Cable News Network anchor Bernard Shaw 
made an inaccurate statement last night during CNN's program in 
observance of the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. He 
was explaining how five National Guardsmen from one small town in 
Kentucky got killed in the war and then he said the National Guard 
rarely goes overseas to combat.
  That is totally wrong. The only reason more National Guardsmen were 
not used in Vietnam was that President Johnson wanted to keep them home 
to control antiwar riots in the States.
  The fact is that the National Guard has been involved in overseas 
combat missions for more than half a century. Four of the 12 divisions 
landing in Europe and D-day were
 National Guardsmen and the 29th National Guard Division lost 2,000 men 
in 1 day at Omaha Beach.

  President Bush sent 106,000 young National Guardsmen and reservists 
to the Persian Gulf war. They fought alongside the Active Forces on the 
ground and in the air during that war.
  And even today, the National Guard and Reserve are flying missions 
over and into the war-torn country of Bosnia.
  The fact is that the Active Forces cannot go anywhere in the world 
today without the National Guard and Reserve.
  I think CNN owes it to these men and women, their families, and the 
American people to set the record straight on this issue.

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