[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S785-S786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A GRATEFUL NATION REMEMBERS

  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, shortly before closing his office, our dear 
former colleague, Howell Heflin, asked that I insert in the 
Congressional Record a speech made by Greg Reed, national commander of 
the Disabled American Veterans, at a banquet held in Birmingham the day 
before Veterans Day.
  I would agree with Senator Heflin that Mr. Reed's speech is an 
excellent one, and I would ask for unanimous consent that his remarks 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the remarks were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                      A Grateful Nation Remembers

                         (Remarks by Greg Reed)

       Each year Americans give pause on Veterans Day to remember 
     and honor the millions of men and women who have donned the 
     uniforms of our great Nation in defense of freedom and 
     democracy. It is a time set aside for our Nation to recognize 
     the vanguard of freedom--American's veterans.
       Our national tradition of honoring American veterans on a 
     special day began one year after World War I ended.
       On November 11, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed 
     that each November 11 was to be commemorated as ``Armistice 
     Day,'' a day of remembrance to honor the 116,000 American 
     ``doughboys,'' who, in World War I, died on the battlefields 
     of Europe.
       The Great War--that's what we called World War I. 
     Sometimes, in our idealism, we called it ``the war to end all 
     wars.'' Of course, we could not know that just two decades 
     later another war would engulf the world.
       World War II would claim four times as many American lives 
     as World War I. When the Germans invaded Poland in 1939, the 
     world entered a holocaust unparalleled in world history.
       Never before had war been waged by so many people, over so 
     much of the globe, with such loss of life and destruction of 
     property.
       Although, 90 million troops from both sides took part in 
     the war; 17 million of them--nearly one out of five--were 
     consumed by it.
       Another 18 million--civilians--died as a direct result of 
     it. We'll never know the precise total of soldiers and 
     civilians wounded and missing.
       America mustered more than 16 million troops to battle on 
     many fronts. When the war ended in 1945, more than 400,000 of 
     them had lost their lives.
       Within five short years, our nation's men and women would 
     be summoned to answer the threat in a place deceptively known 
     as the ``Land of the Morning Calm.''
       Before the Korean War came to a close with an uneasy truce 
     in 1953, nearly 35,000 Americans died, and more than 100,000 
     were wounded.
       In 1954, Armistice Day was redesignated ``Veterans Day.''
       First conceived to recognize those veterans who had died in 
     World War I, the observance now was given a broader scope: to 
     honor all American veterans in whatever war or period of 
     peace they served.
       For they were, and are, made of the same stuff. They were, 
     and are, equally passionate in their patriotism and love of 
     liberty.
       We could not enjoy our freedom today were it not for the 
     courage of those who defended us when we needed defending.
       In the time of Vietnam, we had heroes and didn't see them. 
     A million Americans soldiered there, and more than 58,000 of 
     them died, some bravely, some just unluckily, all in the 
     service of their country.
       Neither the passage of time nor the vantage point of 
     historical perspective has provided this country with answers 
     about Vietnam or its veterans.
       The sense of being alone may be the hallmark of the Vietnam 
     experience--and it is taking many years to heal the social 
     wounds inflicted by that war.
       William Broyles, Jr., a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek 
     and a Marine infantry officer in Vietnam, once said.
       ``The war in Vietnam divided America, most of all by 
     driving a wedge between those who went and those who didn't. 
     Vietnam divided us and troubles us still, not only in the 
     hearts and minds of veterans and their families, but in our 
     crippled self-confidence. It is a specter we have yet put to 
     rest, a wound in need of healing.''
       For many of our fellow veterans the Vietnam war is still a 
     terrible burden. There are too many unanswered questions 
     about the delayed time bombs in their bodies and minds, too 
     many unfulfilled promises about their education and their 
     employment.
       We owe them more than that. It is past time to remember the 
     extraordinary service of these ordinary Americans.
       When their country called, they answered, and they fought 
     with all of the courage and valor of any army this nation 
     ever sent into battle.
       The men and women who served in the Gulf War paid another 
     installment on a great debt that will never be erased so long 
     as there are blood-bent tyrants in the world.
       And, like their predecessors at Gettysburg, Normandy, 
     Guadalcanal, Inchon or Khe Sanh, they paid in time . . . in 
     effort . . . and in blood.
       Veterans Day commemorates the courage and patriotism of all 
     of America's veterans who have contributed so much to the 
     cause of world peace and the preservation of our way of life.
       This is our day to honor those veterans sacrificed in those 
     struggles and pay our respects to those who survived their 
     fallen comrades.
       It is a day to celebrate the bright victories that grew 
     from dark battles.
       It is a day to review memories of past honor and sacrifice.
       It is a day to dream of a brighter future.
       It is a day to celebrate peace.
       We can never say it too often: We are the children of your 
     sacrifice, and we are grateful.
       General Douglas MacArthur spoke of the American soldier as 
     ``one of the world's noblest figures.''
       Yet what sets apart the veterans we honor today? How do we 
     identify them?
       In truth, our veterans are the very embodiment of America 
     itself. They reflect the diversity and strength that is the 
     core of our nation.
       Veterans are white . . . and they are black; they are of 
     every race and ethnic heritage. They are men, and they are 
     women. They are Christians, they are Muslims, they are Jews.
       They're your neighbor next door, the merchant at the mall, 
     and the police officer on the corner.
       They are doctors and farmers, they are factory workers and 
     schoolteachers.
       They are 26 million Americans living today who served in 
     the armed forces, and there are more than one million who 
     have died in America's wars.
       Most of these veterans are unsung heroes, ordinary citizens 
     who did their duty. Their deeds have never been chronicled.
       Those veterans who returned home after World War II, and 
     those who did not, were all part of a generation from which 
     we take inspiration.
       They won the war, and then made sure we would not lose the 
     peace. Without their subordination of self to the common 
     good, our world would be radically different.
       The tradition of the World War II veteran is the tradition 
     of all American veterans.
       From Lexington to Concord, that tradition has sustained us 
     in every battle and every war, right up through Desert Storm.
       It has marched with us and stood vigil in the frozen camps 
     of Valley Forge, the steaming jungles of the Pacific rim, the 
     bloody beaches of Normandy, the rice paddies of Korea and 
     Vietnam, and the scorching sands of the Persian Gulf.
       In that tradition, young, inexperienced Americans become 
     tough, capable soldiers. They become veterans.
       And they remind us all that this great nation was not 
     established by cowards, nor will cowards preserve it.
       America will remain the land of the free only so long as it 
     is the home of the brave.
       What we remember and honor on Veterans Day are those brave 
     men and women who believed so much in an idea, and were so 
     possessed by a sense of duty and honor, that they were 
     willing to risk death for it. And the idea, of course, is 
     liberty.
       Liberty is America's core. It is central to our being, not 
     only because it is practical and beneficial, but because it 
     is morally just and right. But that liberty can be retained 
     only by the eternal vigilance that has always been its price.
       Americans hate war and its destructiveness. Our history 
     reveals a passion to explore, to build, to renew, not to 
     destroy.
       The American spirit is not driven toward the domination of 
     others.
       Never has the American soldier been sent overseas to fight 
     in the cause of conquest.

[[Page S786]]

       Not once did they come home claiming a single square inch 
     of some other country as a trophy of war.
       The only land abroad we occupy is beneath the graves where 
     our heroes rest.
       The American spirit understands that free people who 
     respect the dignity of the individual do not wage war upon 
     their neighbors.
       The American spirit has a warm heart that yearns for mutual 
     understanding and peace among nations of the world.
       And as deeply as we cherish our beliefs, we do not seek to 
     compel others to share them.
       It is one of the great attributes of this nation that we 
     have been willing to take up the mantle to fight for freedom 
     on behalf of others.
       Even as I stand before you today, American forces are once 
     again in harm's way--standing watch in Bosnia as that nation 
     struggles toward peace.
       And why are we there? Because the American spirit is 
     committed to protect and preserve our friends from 
     suppression in a turbulent world.
       We have come to realize that we are, indeed, our brothers' 
     keepers.
       Just in the last decade, our world has undergone a massive 
     realignment.
       The Soviet empire has dissolved, and the major threat to 
     world peace removed.
       We live in a moment of hope, in a nation at peace. For the 
     first time since the dawn of the nuclear age, no Russian 
     missiles are pointed at our children.
       Our economy is sound. And because free markets and 
     democracy now are on the march throughout the world, more 
     people than ever before have the opportunity to reach their 
     God-given potential.
       But our work is far from done. We must contain the world's 
     most deadly weapons, extend the reach of democracy, and unite 
     in opposing crimes against humanity.
       We must keep our arms ready and our alliances strong 
     because challenges of the future won't be any easier than 
     those of the past.
       As the American patriot Thomas Paine said:
       ``Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must . 
     . . undergo the fatigue of supporting it . . . What we obtain 
     too cheap, we esteem too lightly.''
       Let it never be said that we Americans esteem too lightly 
     our blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
       America can never fully repay her veterans, and we will 
     never be able to express our feelings to our fallen soldiers. 
     If there is a crown in heaven, then they are the stars.
       But we must never forget how blessed we are in the modern 
     world to live in a free society, nor forget the sacrifices of 
     our friends, relatives, neighbors and countrymen who served 
     us all when duty called.
       Our veterans did not disappoint their nation when it needed 
     their service. They, in turn, should not be disappointed in 
     their times of need.
       Our duty today is clear, for there are many who need us. 
     Yet, even as America remembers Veterans Day, there are 
     veterans who do seem forgotten.
       Yes, some of the very ones who survived the atrocities of 
     Bataan; stormed the beaches at Guadalcanal and Normandy; and 
     fought in other campaigns of World War II.
       Since then, their numbers have swelled from those who 
     fought in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Haiti, 
     Bosnia and in numerous other conflicts.
       There are veterans who have lost family and friends, and 
     who face a lonely future. Many are homeless and in need of 
     medical care.
       They struggle with war related disabilities.
       They also struggle with bureaucratic red tape to get the 
     benefits and health care they need.
       The belief that sustained our troops in combat was as great 
     as America herself.
       Their heroism was prompted by faith in the fundamentals 
     that have guided this nation from its beginnings--the idea 
     that liberty must be protected, whatever the cost.
       We must nurture and sustain those who distinguished their 
     lives in the defense of freedom. We must provide a dignity 
     befitting heroes . . . whatever the cost.
       This Veterans Day we should remember our history as we 
     prepare for our future, pray for peace as the poets and 
     dreamers do, and on this day each year remember to be 
     vigilant against threats to democracy and, most importantly, 
     ratify our contract with American veterans.
       We know that if the world is faced with the unfortunate 
     occurrence of war, American men and women will be there to 
     meet the challenges, defend our nation, and work toward 
     peace.
       America can and will change, both today and in the future. 
     However, what must not change--not today, not tomorrow, not 
     ever--is our recognition of the debt we owe to America's 
     veterans for keeping the American way of life safe and free.
       God bless America, and God bless those who love, guard and 
     defend our precious freedom.

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