[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 123 (Thursday, July 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, in June 1950 the Communist North Korean Army 
invaded the Republic of Korea in an all-out effort to extinguish the 
light of freedom.
  Although America was weary of war, we came to Korea's defense and 
joined with many other nations to repel this unprovoked assault.
  From the start of the war until the Korean armistice was signed in 
July 1953, almost 1\1/2\ million Americans stood shoulder to shoulder 
in the fight for freedom.
  Inchon, the Chosin Reservoir, Old Baldy, Pork Chop Hill--all were the 
locations of famous battles, and all bore witness to American courage 
and sacrifice in the face of unspeakable hardship.
  And at the war's end, over 54,000 Americans had made the ultimate 
sacrifice. More than 100,000 were wounded. And over 8,000 were missing 
in action.
  One of those who made the ultimate sacrifice was Ens. Jesse Brown, 
America's first black naval aviator. And his story bears repeating.
  In December 1950, Ensign Brown was a member of Fighting Squadron 32, 
aboard an aircraft carrier somewhere off Korea. He flew 20 close air-
support missions, providing cover for our outnumbered marines at the 
Chosin Reservoir. The battle was fierce; our men on the ground were in 
a desperate situation.
  On December 4, 1950, Ensign Brown's aircraft was hit while making a 
strafing run against the enemy. With tremendous skill, he managed to 
crash land on a rough, boulder-strewn slope. He survived the crash, 
waving to his friends as they circled overhead.
  They knew he was in trouble, however, when he remained in the cockpit 
when smoke began to billow from the wreckage. Finally, a fellow member 
of the squadron could stand it no longer. As the others attacked and 
held off advancing enemy troops, Lt. Thomas Hudner ignored the dangers 
of the mountain terrain and enemy troops, and made a deliberate wheels-
up landing.
  He ran to Ensign Brown's plane, now erupting in flames, and found his 
friend alive, badly injured, and trapped in the cockpit.
  Lieutenant Hudner shoveled snow with his hands to keep Jesse from the 
flames, burning his own hand badly in the process.
  Finally, a Marine helicopter arrived. Lieutenant Hudner, joined by a 
crewman from the helicopter, struggled desperately to get Jesse out.
  Unfortunately, Ens. Jesse Brown died on that slope in Korea.
  As President Eisenhower said, Jesse Brown and all those who fought in 
Korea proved ``once again that only courage and sacrifice can keep 
freedom alive upon the Earth.''
  Unfortunately, as time passed by, the courage of our soldiers and the 
rightness of our cause seemed to be forgotten, as the Korean war was 
buried in the back pages of our history books.
  This week, however, with the dedication of the Korean War Memorial 
here in Washington, DC--in fact, at about 3 o'clock today--Americans 
join together to pay a long-overdue tribute to the men and women who 
sacrificed in this so-called forgotten war.
  As inscribed at the site, the Korean War Memorial honors the ``sons 
and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew 
and a people they never met.''
  The haunting images of 2,400 soldiers and the rugged figures of a 
combat patrol remind us of the Americans and of their allies from 21 
other nations who responded when freedom was threatened.
  The lessons of the Korean war are clear: There are no quick and easy 
fixes to preserve freedom. And there is no substitute for American 
leadership.
  Mr. President, it is with great pride that we honor the sacrifice and 
the legacy of our Korean war veterans. Let us proudly remember their 
sacrifice and build on the legacy they earned.


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