[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 65 (Friday, May 10, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PYRAMID OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE FORGOTTEN ONES ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                        HON. STEVE C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 10, 1996

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, today I wish to draw your attention to 
the efforts of some extraordinary young people from my district who 
have embarked on an ambitious and unique project. They want to erect a 
monument in Washington, DC, to pay tribute to our sons and daughters 
who have lost their lives while serving their country, but not in the 
arena of war. I have introduced a bill, the Pyramid of Remembrance for 
the Forgotten Ones Act of 1996, to help them realize their dream.
  Our country is home to many war memorials--from the Civil War to 
Vietnam. Some of these memorials are located in our hometowns, some are 
located here in our Nation's Capital. What we do not have, however, is 
one collective memorial for those whose sacrifice does not fit into a 
one tidy category--one that honors those whose lives were lost in 
undeclared conflicts.
  The Pyramid of Remembrance will fill that void.
  This will be the monument to honor our sons and daughters in the 
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. It will honor those 
who lost their lives in places like Somalia and Bosnia, and in 
peacetime training missions. While we may not perceive these as combat 
fatalities in a technical sense, the loss of these lives is just as 
great, as is the service and devotion to country from these young men 
and women.
  Three years ago, the students of Mary Porter's art concept class at 
Riverside High School in Painesville, OH, began work on this project. 
The students were haunted by images of the body of a United States 
soldier being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, and 
decided to design a monument to honor the victims of such tragedies. 
Several proposals were presented, but the students settled on a 30-foot 
high, four-sided pyramid made of red or porphyry marble.
  One side of the monument will feature engraved symbols for the Army, 
Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard; the others will have the 
words ``Faith, Honor and Remembrance'' etched into them. At all times, 
water will stream down the sides of the pyramid to symbolize that this 
is a living monument.
  While the students who initially planned the monument have all 
graduated and moved onto college, the underclassmen at Riverside High 
School have been unwilling to let this project die. They have enlisted 
the support of area veterans groups, have had architectural renderings 
of their monument completed, and have set up a Pyramid of Remembrance 
Foundation to assist in fundraising efforts.
  The students I have met with do not want this to simply be a 
Riverside High School project, or an Ohio project. They intend to 
enlist the assistance of high school and college students and young 
people across the country in 21st century style, via the Internet and 
the power of MTV. They want this to be a monument inspired and created 
by the youth of America, a tangible contribution from their generation. 
They see this as a way of proving that our Nation's youth--Generation 
X--has a deep commitment to country and community service. No Federal 
funds will be used for the establishment of this monument.
  These students realize they face an uphill battle, and that many 
obstacles stand in their way. But they are undeterred and accept the 
challenge that every great American success story began with the same 
four words: It can't be done.
  I leave you with the thoughts of these special students, the kind of 
young people America should be proud to call its own:

       The purpose of the Pyramid of Remembrance is to acknowledge 
     the supreme sacrifice made by military personnel when engaged 
     in non-combat situations. The lives of these men and women 
     are just as valuable to our nation and their families as 
     those heroes that died in armed conflicts. It matters not 
     whether a military life is lost in basic training or in a 
     peacekeeping mission abroad; a life was still lost in service 
     to the United States of America.

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