[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11235-H11239]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    COMMENDING AMERICANS IN COLD WAR

  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 180) commending the Americans who 
served the United States during the period known as the cold war, as 
amended.

[[Page H11236]]

  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas during the period of the Cold War, from the end of 
     World War II until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, 
     the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a global 
     military rivalry;
       Whereas this rivalry, potentially the most dangerous 
     military confrontation in the history of mankind, has come to 
     a close without a direct superpower military conflict;
       Whereas military and civilian personnel of the Department 
     of Defense, personnel in the intelligence community, members 
     of the foreign service, and other officers and employees of 
     the United States faithfully performed their duties during 
     the Cold War;
       Whereas many such personnel performed their duties while 
     isolated from family and friends and served overseas under 
     frequently arduous conditions in order to protect the United 
     States and achieve a lasting peace; and
       Whereas the discipline and dedication of those personnel 
     were fundamental to the prevention of a superpower military 
     conflict: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring, That Congress hereby commends, and expresses its 
     gratitude and appreciation for, the service and sacrifices of 
     the members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel of the 
     Government who contributed to the historic victory in the 
     Cold War.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Dornan] and the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Pickett] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California [Mr. Dornan].


                             General Leave

  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to reserve most of the time for the gentleman 
from Long Island, NY [Mr. Lazio], who had an inspiration to come up 
with a House concurrent resolution with the U.S. Senate to state very 
simply that there are thousands upon thousands, millions if we take 
into account all of the young men and women that have rotated in and 
out of all our military services and the Coast Guard, which although it 
is under the Transportation Department saw combat in Korea and in 
Vietnam, to compliment and to show the Nation's gratitude to every 
person, military and civilian, who helped win the so-called cold war.
  The cold war was an unfortunate moniker or label applied to a very 
intense, very bloody and very hot conflict, at times, between the evil 
empire of communism and the forces of freedom, what were called the 
United Nations or Allied nations during World War II, realizing that 
although they had defeated the fascism of Mussolini, the fascism/
Naziism of a demonic person, Adolf Hitler, and the evils of the 
warlords that had taken over imperial Japan, they had not conquered the 
evil, the killing machine, of Stalin that Lenin, a killer himself, had 
passed on to Stalin, and that Stalin also, in a demonic way, had 
deliberately killed millions and millions of people.
  It was Stalin who said, the death of one person is important in the 
sense that people will look at it, but the deaths of millions go 
unnoticed. That is Joseph Stalin, who because he reigned in his reign 
of terror for 29 years, killed more people than Hitler managed to 
brutally exterminate in 12 years of the so-called thousand-year Third 
Reich, 12-year Reich.
  Because President Bush is so innately a gentleman, and because things 
were so fluid in what had been the mother wart of communism, the 
Kremlin, President Bush found it uncomfortable to let the world 
celebrate and let the United States of America celebrate that the 
reason we called this long, protracted, what President John F. Kennedy 
called twilight struggle with communism, the reason we called it a cold 
war, as hot and bloody as it was, was because there was no radioactive 
nuclear exchange killing millions of people.
  But in that cold war, CIA agents were killed, alone sometimes, in 
alleyways of eastern bloc countries. There are 50 names on the wall of 
the central main lobby hall of the Central Intelligence Agency at 
Langley, on the stars that represent agents that gave their lives for 
freedom. There are 30 stars or so that have no name next to them, and I 
have been on the case of four directors of the CIA to finally put the 
names up there of those men. We do not have operations in any of these 
countries anymore.

  And then the men that died in Korea, 33,629. Probably 1,200 live 
prisoners left behind. They are victims of the cold war. And then the 
ferret pilots or the spy airplanes, Navy and Air Force, that flew all 
around the periphery of the Soviet evil empire, many of their crews 
captured when they were shot down by Soviet fighter planes at will, and 
because we were denying the operation, nobody was there to intervene 
and try and get even their remains back after they had been executed or 
worse. We do not know what happened to some of them.
  And then there is Vietnam, poor Indochina war. The veterans still are 
wondering, were they part of the cold war? Of course they were. They 
never lost a battle. They had air superiority and finally supremacy. 
They always had supremacy at sea. Every person who died in Vietnam, the 
over 58,000 names on the wall, the eight Army nurses who died there 
from rocket and mortar attacks, all of them were part of the struggle 
against communism. That wall should have a plaque that says these 8 
women and these 58,000 men, and we still add names occasionally as 
remains are returned of our missing, they all died fighting communism.
  They were all part of the cold war. Vietnam was the biggest subset, 
the biggest killing of people fighting for freedom on our side in that 
war, with our allies from Australia and from Thailand and other 
countries in that area and, yes, some Allied nations from Europe that 
sent observers who died.
  This idea of the gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio] is way, way 
overdue, like 6 years late. Better late than never. But remember this, 
communism is not dead. The almanac and the encyclopedias tell us what 
is left now of the Russian Federation is 150 million people, and 
communism can still make a comeback there. Mr. Yeltsin may be too weak 
to even get heart surgery, which means there will be a change of power 
there soon. General officers are running all the committees in the 
Duma, their congress. Imagine four-star generals running all of our 
military and intelligence security committees on this House. That is 
what it has evolved into in the congress in Moscow. Anything can happen 
there.

  But multiple Russia's 150 million by 8, Mr. Speaker, and you have got 
China, Red China, still a serious human rights violator. And Mr. 
Clinton for trade purposes, I call it 30 pieces of silver and you all 
know why, he is delinking, he is decoupling human rights and Tiananmen 
Square offenses from trade policy with Communist China. Communist 
China, 8 times larger in population than Russia. The United States, 
next month or the month after, will pass 266 million people. China is 
266 million plus a billion, 5 times bigger than the United States, 8 
times bigger than Russia.
  And then there is Cuba, murdered four American citizens in small 
Cessna airplanes, Skymasters, shot them down with Russian-supplied Migs 
less than about 70 miles off the coast of the United States, Key West, 
in international waters.
  And then there is Vietnam. Why we ever normalized relations with 
Vietnam, I do not know. Not after the way they tortured our men to 
death and held back three heroes who they had beaten into a depressed 
mental state: Glen Cobiel, Kenneth Cameron, and James Joseph Connell, 
left behind, and who knows how many others in Vietnam.
  There is Communist Vietnam, 72 million people under communism; 11 
million in Cuba; and the 22 to 23 million people in Korea. There may 
still be live American prisoners there. Still communism reigns supreme, 
living up to Lenin's dictum that to lie is to serve the Communist 
cause. Korea in the north; all of that poor prison, that beautiful 
Nation of Cuba; China, 8 times bigger than Russia; and Vietnam, 72 
million people with human rights violations. Communism is not dead.

[[Page H11237]]

                              {time}  1045

  The cold war, as we called it, that was won by the nations of freedom 
and the allied powers. Remember President Kennedy, paraphrasing 
Lincoln, said the world cannot long exist half slave and half free. We 
are the free side, and communism is the slave side. And it is about 
time this Congress and the other body turned around and said to the 
civilians, particularly the military people, thank you for your 
sacrifices, thank you, and God bless you for preventing a nuclear 
exchange, and may in God's wisdom in the future, it never escalate and 
ratchet back up again to this type of confrontation.
  Mr. Speaker, I honor the gentleman from New York, [Mr. Lazio] for 
doing this before this body.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to hearing from my vice chairman on the 
Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I rise in support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I also commend the gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio] 
for bringing forward this resolution which highlights a very important 
maxim of war, and that is that the difference between victory and 
defeat is ultimately determined by the people involved. This resolution 
honors those people who worked so hard on behalf of the United States 
during the cold war to ensure our victory.
  This principle, of course, was no less true during the cold war than 
it has been during other wars. It could be argued that the 40-plus 
years of cold war was in some ways a sterner test for the combatants. 
Military leadership was essential and the risk that the people of the 
Nation would lose resolve from one generation to the next was real. 
Fortunately this did not happen in America. Our military members and 
civilian employees are deserving of high praise and recognition. I 
congratulate Mr. Lazio for ensuring that the voice of Congress is heard 
on this issue.
  House Concurrent Resolution 180 received the unanimous support of the 
National Security Committee, which reported the measure with a 
perfecting amendment. I urge its adoption by the House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the aforementioned 
honorable, distinguished, and historically motivated gentleman from 
Long Island, NY, Mr. Rick Lazio, the author of this excellent House 
Concurrent Resolution 180.
  Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Dornan] and the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Pickett] 
for their compliments and for their support for this important 
resolution. We would not be at this point without the bipartisan 
support to recognize and applaud the contributions of Americans during 
the cold war.
  Mr. Speaker, at the cemetery at Gettysburg, after the great orator 
Edward Everett had spoken for 2 hours, President Abraham Lincoln rose 
to deliver a 3-minute speech which has endured as perhaps the greatest 
speech in our Nation's history. He said that day:

       We cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we cannot hallow 
     this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled 
     here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or 
     detract.

  These words certainly ring true today as we recognize the men and 
women who so nobly served our country through the struggle that lasted 
four and a half decades, the cold war. That is put simply, what this 
resolution does. It pays tribute to those whose commitment and 
dedication brought our Nation successfully through the period known as 
the cold war, and it is about time.

  Throughout this struggle, generations of Americans maintained our 
commitment to world peace, a commitment which began with America's 
defeat of the Axis Powers in World War II. However, just as the cold 
war was ending a new menace demanded our attention. We rallied for 
Desert Storm while the cold war expired with its last gasp. This 
crisis, followed rapidly changing events at home and abroad, left no 
time for any recognition of those dedicated people who served our 
country during the cold war.
  We are here today for two reasons. First, we hope, with this 
resolution to recognize, and thank every citizen who participated in 
America's struggle with the Soviet Union, known as the cold war. Our 
Nation's thanks goes to the infantry man of Korea, the helicopter pilot 
in Vietnam, the B-52 crews of Strategic Air Command throughout the 
world, the Marines in Lebannon, and the seaman of every kind of vessel. 
It goes to the medics, the nurses, the mechanics and cooks. Our thanks 
and appreciation go to each and every man and woman who served in the 
Active, Reserve, and Guard components of our Armed Forces during this 
45-year struggle. But more than that, it goes to every American who 
went to the factory, office, freight yard, or terminal, quietly, never 
wavering in our commitment to oppose communism and dictatorships.
  Our thanks goes to those who prayed for their son or daughter when 
only the parent could feel and know the fear of their child being in 
harm's way. It goes to the Americans who were there day to day, paying 
their taxes, raising their families, and staying the course. We are 
here to recognize America for the most tremendous victory in the 
history of mankind.
  Second, we are here to remind America, as she enters the 21st 
century, that we can do the impossible. In fact, we have already done 
what seemed impossible in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. Our 
victory in the cold war liberated almost 500 million people from the 
tyranny of Communist aggression, while freeing almost a dozen nations 
from the grip of the Iron Curtain.
  Today is about reclaiming America's spirit. It is about the strength 
of our unity to take on, and solve the problems and challenges which 
face our Nation. We hope that today begins a national awakening, and 
celebration of our historic victory. Further, we hope that we begin to 
remember just how powerful our Nation can be when we all come together.
  While the Soviets and Americans never faced each other directly on 
the battlefield, the cold war touched each and every one of us in many 
ways over the years. Every American lived with the constant nightmare 
that something horrible could happen at any moment. I remember as a 
child hiding under my desk at school during a practice bomb drill. Some 
built bomb shelters in their backyards. We all remember the test 
patterns which accompanied ``for the next 30 seconds . . .''

  But the global competition between East and West was much more than 
an arms race. The competition was really about freedom versus slavery, 
democracy versus totalitarianism, and capitalism versus socialism. This 
struggle tested the very fiber and fundamental elements of two 
competing societies. Ultimately, freedom triumphed.
  The cold war shaped our economy, our politics and our outlook for 
almost half a century. In many respects, the nonmilitary aspects of the 
competition tipped the scales of destiny in favor of America. Our 
citizens built the most prosperous and productive nation in the world. 
In doing so, we maintained an open democracy where the individual is 
valued, and can make a difference every day.
  Our Nation helped provide a bright new future filled with freedom for 
many millions of people across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet 
Union. In a contest of philosophies, systems, and values we triumphed 
over society enslaved. The result of our commitment and leadership must 
rank as one of the greatest accomplishments in history.
  In ``The Art of War,'' Sun Tzu states that ``To fight and conquer in 
all your battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists 
in breaking the enemies resistance without fighting.'' Through our 
resolve over the last 45 years, we avoided not only war, but nuclear 
holocaust. We ended a form of slavery for almost half a billion people. 
Shouldn't that rate a small party, if not a full-blown celebration?
  Today is as much about our future as about our past. It is about 
focusing America's energy, intelligence, and resources on the difficult 
domestic problems we now face. Today we gather to express a new feeling 
of pride and confidence in America and its future. This recognition of 
our cold war victory,

[[Page H11238]]

and those dedicated people who served our Nation during this struggle, 
will allow us to reflect for a moment on our past accomplishments and 
continue with renewed confidence in ourselves as we approach the 21st 
century. In the words of John Wayne, ``Give the American people a good 
cause, and there's nothing they can't lick.''
  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
American Samoa [Mr. Faleomavaega].
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia 
for yielding me time, and I want to compliment the gentleman and 
certainly our friends on the other side of the aisle for bringing this 
resolution honoring Americans who fought in the cold war to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not know if the world realizes or appreciates the 
fact that our Nation has expended well over $5 trillion to win the cold 
war. However, I do not think we can ever place just a monetary value on 
our commitment in the cold war.
  Most important is the list of young men and women of our country that 
sacrificed their lives in this struggle. The fact that we won the war 
in such a positive way, helped to make this Nation certainly the most 
powerful Nation of all. But it is not solely because of that, but 
because of our belief in the principles of democracy that we fought for 
so valiantly for the past 40 years that has made America great.
  Mr. Speaker, I certainly commend the gentleman for sponsoring this 
resolution, and I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, one of our great retiring Members, who was a lieutenant 
commanding a prisoner of war camp for Germans, the gentleman from 
Indiana, John Myers, just brought two grandsons on the floor. I have 
never seen better looking kids here. It makes me think of what we 
accomplished in that cold war, that hopefully young people like this 
can grow up without those nuclear drills that I remember in grade 
school, duck and cover, duck and cover.
  When my good friend who I traveled to all the World War II 
battlefields in the South Pacific with, the gentleman from American 
Samoa, Mr. Eni Faleomavaega, and I still have to do Cary Grant to get 
your last name rhythm right, Eni, he is correct in the 5 trillion 
figure.
  But if you take into account that dirge that some GI's would sing, 
``$10,000 going home to the folks,'' if you put in all the costs of the 
heartbreak, the divorces that hit about a third of our POW`s in the 
Vietnam subset of the cold war, if you put in all the agony and the 
legal bills and all of the peripheral expenses attached, I think $10 
trillion is probably closer to the total figure of what we spent to 
keep out of the bloody, hot cold war, a nuclear exchange.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from New York [Mr. Gilman], another stalwart soldier in this fight, who 
had been a B-29 crewman in the great war, the big one, World War II, 
but for over a quarter of a century has fought as it was taking place 
for our missing-in-action and POW's in that major bloody part of the 
cold war, Vietnam, the distinguished chairman of our Committee on 
International Relations, who is following with another suspension vote. 
What an honor to have shared this struggle and gone to Russia with the 
gentleman, to East bloc countries, and to Hanoi itself with the 
gentleman, in part of this diplomatic effort of the cold war.
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the distinguished gentleman from 
California [Mr. Dornan], the gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio], and 
the other sponsors of this resolution, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. 
DeLay], the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Spence], the gentleman 
from Arizona [Mr. Stump], and the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. 
Parker].
  Mr. Speaker, I do not think we can emphasize enough the wonderful, 
courageous, dedicated work of our American teams out there, the 
personnel that served during the cold war, never knowing when they 
would have to be called upon to engage in actual hostility. They were 
not part of any invasion, they were not part of any landing, but they 
certainly fulfilled their responsibility by being ready, by being 
disciplined, by being dedicated.
  I would just like to reemphasize what the gentleman from New York 
[Mr. Lazio] stated, in saving and freeing 500 million people as a 
result of our cold war efforts. I do not think we can do enough to 
express our recognition of these courageous, dedicated American men and 
women.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I see the gentleman from Guam [Mr. Underwood] is 
present. What a great part Guam has played with Anderson Air Force 
Base, B-52's launching all the way in the name of freedom, roaring over 
to Vietnam, stopping the invasion in December 1972.
  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Guam 
[Mr. Underwood].

                              {time}  1100

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
this time, and I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. Dornan] for 
raising that issue. Certainly Guam has been a keystone in the whole 
policy of containment coming out of World War II, in the early days, 
when they had a huge Army base as well as Air Force and naval 
facilities.
  I would venture to say that many of the people that are being honored 
through this resolution, probably hundreds of thousands of people, have 
stopped in Guam along the way or perhaps were stationed there. Guam had 
a very important role in the Vietnam war and, of course, its value 
again to this country has been proven quite recently with the strike in 
Iraq and even in the evacuation of Kurdish refugees.
  So Guam remains an important strategic part of the American presence 
throughout the world. We are happy to do so, and we are happy to play 
our part.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on our side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The gentleman from 
California [Mr. Dornan] has 1\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  To keep a bipartisan tone here, and since I have already quoted 
President John F. Kennedy, who came to power as he said, a new 
generation to whom the torch had been passed, born in this century, and 
to remind all my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and my 
colleagues on this side of the aisle how clearly President Kennedy saw 
this struggle between communism and freedom.
  One of the Members, in a discussion on infanticide and sexual license 
yesterday recommended that I reread President Kennedy's speech to the 
greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12, 1960, and I 
did. I will comment in an hour's special order tonight, if time allows, 
on this speech and how this country has gone through more decline in 36 
years domestically.
  One of the things struck me about President Kennedy's opening 
remarks. He mentioned eight issues he thought were more important than 
a creative religious conflict about the first Catholic since Alfred E. 
Smith to run for the Presidency and in his case became the victor.
  Going back to front, he said, too late to the moon and outer space. 
He set that goal and we accomplished it. He talked about too few 
schools, too many slums, families forced to give up their farms, old 
people who cannot pay their doctor bills, the hungry children I saw in 
West Virginia, the humiliating treatment of our President and Vice 
President by those who no longer respect our power.
  But I will close on what President Kennedy made item one, the spread 
of Communist influence until it now festers 90 miles off the coast of 
Florida. What a joy that at least we conquered the first one.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, allow me please to reiterate some of Mr. 
Lazio's superb points and observations. House Concurrent Resolution 180 
honors the many military members

[[Page H11239]]

and civilian employees of the Department of Defense, intelligence 
community, Foreign Service community, and other Federal agencies who 
contributed to the victory in the cold war.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation's victory over the Soviet Union and the 
Warsaw Pact brought to an end over 40 years of East-West confrontation. 
The gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio] is to be commended for bringing 
forward this resolution to recognize the men and women who served our 
Nation with skill, determination, and discipline during the cold war. 
It takes a thoughtful man of Mr. Lazio's caliber to understand the 
historical importance of this resolution that so many of us simply 
overlooked. In our haste to celebrate a victory that most of us took 
for granted, it would have been very easy to chalk it up as just 
another landmark in the history of the United States. It was Rick 
Lazio's resolution that made us pause, consider the struggle we had 
engaged for so many years, and give thanks to the people that 
sacrificed so much to gain the victory. The cold war victory is a 
monumental landmark in the history of the United States and thank God 
we had Rick Lazio in the Congress to ensure the people who won that 
great victory are not forgotten.
  The winning of the cold war required the concerted effort of all 
America, however, it was the people who serve our Nation in the 
military and throughout government as civilian employees who fought in 
the trenches of the cold war. It is these lives that we honor with this 
resolution. It is to these people we owe our heartfelt gratitude for 
their service.
  Again, I commend again the gentleman from New York for this excellent 
resolution and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on House Concurrent 
Resolution 180. Please let's make it unanimous.
  Mr. PICKETT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Dornan] that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 
180, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  The title was amended so as to read: ``Concurrent resolution 
commending the members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel of 
the Government who served the United States faithfully during the Cold 
War.''
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________