[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 75 (Monday, May 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6241-S6242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 V-E DAY--A VICTORY FOR AMERICAN VALUES

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, today I join my fellow Americans and 
millions of freedom-loving people around the world in celebrating the 
50th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
  I am enormously proud of the South Dakotans who answered their 
Nation's call to free Europe from Nazi terror. The 34th Infantry 
Division--the first American division to serve in the European 
theater--included three South Dakota National Guard units: the 109th 
Engineer Battalion, the 109th Quartermaster Regiment, and the 132d 
Engineer Regiment. South Dakotans were with Eisenhower, Patton, and 
Bradley when they invaded North Africa in 1942 and Italy in 1943.
  More than 2,200 South Dakota National Guardsmen served on active 
duty. More than 41,000 South Dakotans between the ages of 21 and 36 
were called into military service through the draft and 23,192 South 
Dakotans enlisted. Hundreds more served as State guardsmen to respond 
to civil and military emergencies at home.
  South Dakota was a temporary home to many of our brave soldiers in 
training. The Sioux Falls Training Base provided technical instruction 
to 45,000 servicemen. Pierre and Rapid City were sites for airbases. 
The latter would ultimately become Ellsworth Air Force Base. Watertown 
and Mitchell served as subbases for the Army. Provo was the site of the 
Black Hills or Igloo Ordnance Depot. And an area in the Badlands, known 
as the Gunnery Range, was used for bombing practice by the military.
  I join with all Americans in saluting the enormous contributions of 
our native Americans from South Dakota in the war effort. Congressman 
Ben Reifel--born on the Rosebud Reservation--was in the Army Reserve 
when called to active duty in 1942. He served in Europe. Reifel reached 
the rank of lieutenant colonel by the time of his discharge after the 
war.
  The Lakota and Dakota code talkers' contributions deserve special 
recognition. Their service back then was invaluable. Their story is 
still legendary and a source of pride to all Americans.
  My former colleague and dear friend Senator George McGovern was a 
World War II veteran and hero. As an Army Air Corps pilot, Senator 
McGovern flew 35 bombing missions over Europe in a 6-month period. He 
also received the Distinguished Flying Cross for safely crash-landing 
his B-24 bomber--the Dakota Queen--on an island in the Adriatic Sea.
  South Dakotans know well the heroism of Msgr. Francis Sampson, known 
as the Jumping Padre. Monsignor Sampson was a paratrooper--one of the 
first American liberators in the 82d and 101st Airbornes to set foot on 
European soil on D-Day. He was captured by the Nazi Army, escaped and 
was captured again, spending the rest of the war in a German prison 
camp.
  Mr. President, the greatest share of gratitude and tribute we owe to 
our American and Allied veterans--living and dead. For it is they who 
put their lives on the line so that their children and grandchildren 
could live in a world free of Nazi terror. From the shores of Normandy 
to the forests of the Ardennes, American veterans pryed open Hitler's 
tyrannical stranglehold over Europe. But we must not forget Americans 
at home. It was just as much a Victory in America as it was a Victory 
in Europe.
  South Dakotans will never forget the tremendous service of Governors 
Harlan J. Bushfield and M.Q. Sharpe, who met the enormous challenges of 
raising the State's National Guard and organizing civil defense drills 
and bond drives throughout the war years.
  South Dakotans volunteered and raised funds for eight United Service 
Organization [USO] clubs in South Dakota. These USO clubs were much 
needed to boost morale among the troops stationed in our State.
  South Dakotans young and old dug deep into their pockets and piggy 
banks to keep American troops armed, fed, and clothed. During eight 
national fund-raising campaigns, South Dakota exceeded its quotas. 
South Dakota consistently ranked first or second in the per capita sale 
of the Series ``E'' war bonds, known as people's bonds. In total, South 
Dakotans raised $111.5 million from the sale of people's bonds--that's 
$173 for every South Dakotan adult and child. Some South Dakotans even 
sacrificed their homes and property for the war effort.
  South Dakotans worked overtime in the fields and factories of our 
State growing the food and building the supplies for our troops. 
Workers in the K.O. Lee Co. of Aberdeen made grinders and keyless drill 
chucks. The Dakota Sash and Door Company, also of Aberdeen, constructed 
wooden shell boxes. The Nichols Co., located in Spencer, manufactured 
leather carbine scabbards for jeeps.
  Mr. President, I could go on and on to note the tremendous 
accomplishments of my State to the war effort. It is a story that each 
one of my colleagues could echo. Each State, each American had a hand 
in the victory. Our hearts and minds were with our courageous American 
forces overseas. They answered the call. They stood face to face with 
Hitler's machine of hate and oppression. They turned the tide of Nazi 
aggression. [[Page S6242]] 
  But we could not have won on the European front without a victory on 
the home front. Our American forces in Europe were the best trained, 
best fed, and best supplied liberating force ever constructed on the 
planet. They were the best ever abroad because we were the best ever at 
home.
  Let there be no mistake. The twisted power and oppression of Nazi 
terror, hatred, and Holocaust were no match for the collective powers 
of freedom, of democracy, of individual initiative--the very essence of 
America. Today, we honor the 50th anniversary of that victory. We honor 
that victory every day so long as we continue to stand for these values 
at home and abroad.
  Mr. REID addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Grams). The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, what is the issue now before the body?

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