[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 123 (Thursday, July 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         THE KOREAN WAR VETERANS MEMORIAL--LONG-OVERDUE TRIBUTE

                                 ______


                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 1995
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, this week we are honoring the millions of 
Americans who served our Nation during the Korean war.
  They call Korea the forgotten war, but none of us can forget the 
valor of the veterans who fought and bled and died in Korea.
  A long-overdue memorial is being dedicated Thursday, July 27, in 
Washington, on the Mall, a very short distance from the Lincoln 
Memorial. Granite, steel, wood, and stone have been shaped to form a 
memorial we can take pride in. You can look into the eyes of the men 
and women who served our country, and see their determination. You can 
gaze at a wall of granite, and see hundreds of faces, representing the 
men and women who provided support for the troops. You can pause for 
reflection at a memorial honoring the soldiers who are still 
unaccounted for.
  As we dedicate the Korean War Veterans Memorial, we have much to 
remember.
  This memorial will help us to come full circle--to close the wounds 
that until now have not healed, and to fulfill our need to remember all 
of those who have served.
  We must remember the sacrifices made by veterans of the Korean war, 
and the conditions they faced; of the Marines who fought their way out 
of the frozen Chosin Reservoir, facing 120,000 Chinese troops and 
subzero temperatures; of those who made the stand in sweltering heat 
around Pusan; of our troops who landed at Inchon; of the terror at 
Heartbreak Ridge, at Pork Chop Hill, and Outposts Tom, Dick, and Harry.
  More than 5\1/2\ million Americans in all served in the war. There 
were 54,246 who lost their lives. Forty-two years ago this week, the 
fighting stopped.
  The Korean war led to an uneasy peace, and the cold war continued for 
decades. But through the efforts of those who served our Nation in 
Korea, and those who served before and after, our commitment to freedom 
never faltered.
  However poignant and powerful the steel and granite of the memorial 
may be, we must do much more to honor the legacy of these veterans.
  There are still 8,168 servicemen unaccounted for from the war, only 5 
fewer than when the war ended. Efforts are underway with Russia and 
North Korea to seek clues to the missing and recover and return 
remains, but much more needs to be done.
  We must also honor the commitment we made to those who served in 
Korea, and to all veterans. Keeping medical care for veterans 
affordable and accessible, and protecting the pensions they earned 
through service, are among our tasks in Congress.
  I look forward to working to keep this legacy alive.
  

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