[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO GOLD STAR MOTHERS

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, as we begin a new session of 
Congress, I thought this would be an appropriate time to stop for a 
moment and reflect upon some of the sacrifices that have been made by 
our citizens to ensure the protection of liberty and democracy in this 
great Nation. One group of citizens comes immediately to mind--the Gold 
Star Mothers.
  This organization was formed in the years following the end World War 
I. It is a nonprofit, nonpolitical group which was organized by 25 
mothers in June 1928 and incorporated on January 5, 1929. The cost of 
membership is incalculable. To join, one must have lost a son or 
daughter during a war waged by the United States.
  As a parent myself, I know from personal experience that there is 
nothing more costly that losing a child. To raise and nurture a son or 
daughter, instilling in them the aspirations and goals that are only 
achieved through a long and full life, and then to having their lives 
cut short is a tragic and devastating blow to any parent. The pain 
never goes away. It is a pain that Gold Star Mothers live with every 
day.
  What is remarkable about this group of courageous women is that they 
refused to allow their grief to become the victor. Instead, they chose 
to channel their pain and suffering into productive work to benefit 
veterans and the community at large.
  In 1940, Congress and President Franklin Roosevelt recognized their 
tireless efforts on behalf of veterans and Gold Star family members by 
enacting legislation to honor these brave women by designating the last 
Sunday in September as Gold Star Mothers Day. There is no organization 
more worthy of this perpetual honor.
  But the Gold Star Mothers did not stop there. They wanted to expand 
their opportunities to assist veterans and their families and sought a 
congressional charter so they could work in veterans hospitals 
throughout the country. That charter was granted in 1984. The charter 
outlines the objective and purposes for which they were organized, 
including assisting all veterans and their dependents in claims to the 
VA; inspiring respect for the Stars and Stripes; encouraging a sense of 
individual obligation to the community, State, and Union; perpetuating 
the memory of those whose lives were sacrificed in our wars, and 
supporting and extending needful assistance to all Gold Star Mothers.
  Over the ensuing years, Gold Star Mothers has provided assistance to 
countless veterans needing help. They do so with great dedication and 
great love. What greater love is there than a mother's love?
  Although the group started out with only 25 members, Gold Star 
Mothers grew quickly and today has department officers covering all 50 
states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. And they 
keep expanding.
  I just wanted to take this time to salute this organization, to 
assure them that a grateful nation has not forgotten their sacrifice, 
and to thank them for the good work they continue to do for this great 
nation. I would like to pay special tribute to a Gold Star Mother in my 
State, Margaret Renner, who lost a son in Vietnam in 1969. She has been 
an active member of Gold Star Mothers, Inc., for many years, and all of 
us who know her are grateful for her dedicated service to the men and 
women who have served the Nation honorably as well as to those who have 
lost their sons and daughters to war. 

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