[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 12, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1423-E1424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    BUN RYAN'S MEMORIAL DAY MESSAGE

                                 ______


                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 1995
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, once a year our country honors our war 
dead by saluting our fallen heros on Memorial Day. The last Monday in 
May is set aside for this special day of remembrance. Many of us gather 
at cemeteries, lay wreathes, make speeches, reminisce about past wars 
and remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
  This past Memorial Day in Los Alamos, NM a moving speech was 
delivered by a World War II veteran, Bernard ``Bun'' Ryan. Bun served 
in the U.S. Army Field Artillery from 1943 to 1946. He attained the 
rank of master sergeant and was awarded the Bronze Star and other 
ribbons and medals for his service.
  I urge my colleagues to review Bun's speech and share it with others. 
It is a must-read for all Americans.

       Distinguished State and County Representatives, My fellow 
     Veterans, Ladies and Gentlemen,
       I am extremely complimented to be invited to speak on this 
     day, set aside each year to honor those who have served our 
     country. I am convinced that the best thing that ever 
     happened to me was being born an American, and raised in a 
     home where allegiance to God and Country went hand in hand.
       When I was in my youth this day was known as Decoration 
     Day. My Mom would 

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     fix a picnic lunch and we would shoulder our rakes and shovels and like 
     most of the town we would proceed to the cemetery to decorate 
     the graves of our relatives. It assumed the air of a 
     celebration, and I can still see the old wooden gazebo where 
     the band would assemble to play their martial music.
       Promptly at 11 o'clock there would be a moment of silence 
     to commemorate the hour the armistice that ended World War I 
     was signed.
       That was to be the war to end all wars, and little did we 
     realize in those carefree days that lurking not too far in 
     the future was the biggest war that would ever be fought.
       It started for the United States on Dec. 7, 1941 with what 
     President Roosevelt described as Japan's dastardly attack on 
     Pearl Harbor.
       The United States, which had assumed an isolationist 
     attitude after World War I, was ill-prepared to fight a war, 
     especially after the tremendous loss of Naval and Air Forces 
     at Pearl Harbor. But on Dec. 8, 1941, President Roosevelt 
     declared war on the axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
       At age 19, I answered my country's call to duty, and spent 
     the next three years in the Field Artillery, United States 
     Army. After six months of training here in the States, I 
     became a part of the forces under Gen. Douglas MacArthur that 
     drove the Japanese from the island of New Guinea and the 
     Philippines back to their home islands, with tremendous 
     losses to both sides in men and material.
       This was a two-year endeavor, and as we were securing the 
     Philippines, the war in Europe came to a successful 
     conclusion.
       Now came the preparations for the invasion of the Japanese 
     Homeland, an operation that would be the most costly of all. 
     But little did we know that a group of scientists and 
     military personnel, in a little isolated place in New Mexico 
     called Los Alamos, had developed a weapon so powerful, that 
     when used would cause Japan to surrender within three days.
       My friends, I take great exception to those who say we won 
     that war. Nobody wins in a war. There are the Victors and 
     there are the Vanquished and thank God we were the Victors. 
     And in being the Victors we secured our freedom and our 
     independence. But if you think there are winners stand with 
     me, in 1945, in my living quarters on the fourth floor of a 
     building in downtown Osaka, Japan, and look out the window at 
     the destruction of what must have been a beautiful, vibrant 
     city. Immediately my thoughts would return to the devastation 
     inflicted on us by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, and the 
     cruelty inflicted on the victims of the Bataan Death March.
       If you think there are winners, stand with me as the 
     American Rangers who had stormed the Japanese prison camp at 
     Cabanatuan return from their successful mission carrying our 
     Death March Survivors piggy-back because they were so weak 
     and emaciated from torture and starvation they were unable to 
     walk.
       Visit, as I have, the American cemeteries in New Guinea, 
     the Philippines, even Europe, and especially Bastogne where 
     General Patton is buried, and gaze upon row after row of 
     white crosses and Stars of David, often as far as the eye can 
     see, and try to convince me that there are winners in war.
       I believe the basis of all love is sacrifice and every one 
     of those graves contain a man or woman who loved their 
     country so much they were willing to make the ultimate 
     sacrifice.
       Come with me to Denver, shortly after the war ended, and 
     visit with Mrs. Hamilton, the mother of my High School chum, 
     Eddie Hamilton, whose remains are entombed in the Battleship 
     Arizona at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, and all she had to 
     show for her sacrifice was a Gold Star hanging in the window.
       No! my friends, there are no winners. Many of our 
     politicians today say we won the Cold War, but most of the 
     problems in our country today are the result of the 
     tremendous debt, and the interest on that debt, that was 
     accumulated in spending on weaponry, keeping abreast of the 
     Soviet Union. As I see it the Cold War was a race between the 
     United States and the Soviet Union to see who could become 
     bankrupt the earliest, and the Soviet Union won by a nose. 
     But again we maintained our freedom and our independence.
       To those in our society who sympathize with the Japanese 
     and criticize President Truman for using the bomb, I 
     patiently remind you, we did not start the war, we merely 
     ended it. And although I do not agree with what you say I 
     will defend to the death, if need be, your right to say it.
       Perhaps, if those among you who criticize, had been engaged 
     in World War II, and were waiting for the command to invade 
     the Japanese Homeland which would have cost hundreds of 
     thousands of lives on both sides, your attitude may be a lot 
     different. And isn't it ironic, that no one, seeing the 
     results of what one bomb can do, has seen fit to use an 
     atomic weapon in the last 50 years.
       I would also like to ask those critics, Had we been 
     Vanquished, instead of the Victors, do you think the axis 
     powers would have restored our country, and made us an 
     economic giant in the world? I think not!
       Were there any good results from World War II? You bet. To 
     name a couple:
       Never in the history of our country has it been so united 
     as it was during that era. Everyone pitched in to do whatever 
     was needed. To the point where even today they want to hang 
     on to the music and the memories.
       The G.I. Bill which gave veterans the opportunity to 
     acquire a college education, and resulted in the greatest 
     educational opportunity the nation had ever seen. Those who 
     passed up college were given the opportunity to acquire 
     skills through on-the-job training programs.
       All of this resulted in the United States being ranked as a 
     Super Power, a status we covert to this day. Back in 1963, 
     President John F. Kennedy wrote these words and I quote:
       ``We in this country, in this generation, are by destiny 
     rather than choice the watchmen on the walls of world 
     freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be made worthy of our 
     power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength 
     with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our 
     time and for all time the ancient vision of Peace on Earth, 
     Good will Toward Men. That must always be our goal and the 
     righteousness of our cause must underlie our strength. For as 
     t'was written long ago: Except the Lord keep the city, the 
     watchman waketh but in vain.''
       These were President Kennedy's last official words--the 
     conclusion of a speech he was to have delivered at the Dallas 
     Trade Mart on the day of his assassination. That was 32 years 
     ago, and nothing has changed. We are still the Watchmen on 
     the walls of world freedom, and I would beseech you on this 
     Memorial Day to reflect on how fortunate we are to live in 
     this great country.
       Sure, America has her faults, we're not perfect. Nothing 
     is. Perfection is a myth. Sure our leaders make mistakes, we 
     all do. They're still putting erasers on pencils. And making 
     mistakes is a sign that at least we're doing something.
       I would also ask that on this day you remember the loss in 
     leadership that our community has suffered recently: Wally 
     Walters, Betty Ehart, Lore Watt and Darleene Bemis, to name a 
     few.
       In closing, allow me to reach into my Irish Heritage and 
     wish all of you the blessing of the poetic Irish Heart:
       ``When the winds break for you, may the trees shake for you 
     their blossoms down. And when your nights are troubled, may a 
     friend wake for you so that your time be doubled. And at the 
     end of all loving and love, may the Lord above give you a 
     crown.''
       Thank you so much. May God Bless You and may God Bless the 
     United States of America.
     

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