[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 70 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5131-S5132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THURMOND (for himself and Mr. McCain):
  S. 813. A bill to amend chapter 91 of title 18, United States Code, 
to provide criminal penalties for theft and willful vandalism at 
national cemeteries; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.


             the veterans' cemetery protection act of 1997

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, this coming Monday, May 26, our Nation 
will observe Memorial Day. For some Americans, Memorial Day is simply 
the opening of the summer vacation season. However, for millions of 
patriotic Americans this day is much more. To us, Memorial Day is the 
day we pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in 
defending this Nation and our freedoms.
  Honoring those who died in war is a practice and custom of many 
cultures and countries. In the United States, tributes to fallen 
soldiers took place in many locations during the War Between the 
States. An early observance occurred on May 30, 1865, in Charleston, 
SC, when a group of school children scattered flowers over trenches in 
which the remains of several hundred Union soldiers had been interred. 
Another commemoration occurred in Columbus, MS, on April 25, 1866, when 
a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of 
Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Flowers were 
placed on the nearby bare and neglected graves of Union soldiers as 
well. Throughout the North and South, this practice of decorating 
graves became more widespread.
  On May 5, 1868, Gen. John A. Logan issued a general order that 
designated the 30th day of May, 1868, as a day for decorating the 
graves of comrades who died in defense of their country. Decoration 
Day, as it came to be celebrated, was first observed that day at 
Arlington National Cemetery, which held the remains of 20,000 Union 
dead and several hundred Confederate dead. By the end of the 19th 
century, Memorial Day, or Decoration Day ceremonies were being held 
throughout the Nation. In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national 
holiday, and was placed on the last Monday in May.
  Mr. President, Memorial Day services will be held throughout the 
Nation next Monday, in our national cemeteries, where thousands of war 
dead are buried. A national service will be held at Arlington Cemetery. 
Local traditions will be included in ceremonies at the Punchbowl Center 
in Hawaii. Decorations will be placed in the 114 national cemeteries 
operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery 
System. A few other national cemeteries are under the jurisdiction of 
the Department of Defense and the Department of Interior. I encourage 
my colleagues, and all citizens of this Nation, to visit these 
cemeteries and pay respect to those who have given their life for their 
country.
  Mr. President, unfortunately not all activities at our national 
cemeteries have honored the dead. There have been, unfortunately, 
instances of vandalism and theft at our national cemeteries. Last 
month, the Punchbowl in Hawaii, the National Memorial Cemetery of the 
Pacific, was desecrated by vandals. Vandals caused over $20,000 in 
damage by spray painting racial epithets and obscenities on graves, 
marble memorials, and other parts of the cemetery. Other cemeteries, 
private and State, were also damaged that same weekend. Last year, at 
the Riverside National Cemetery in California, engraved grave markers 
were stolen from 128 graves. Months before that incident, over 500 
markers were stolen from a storage facility.
  The time has come to demand a stop to this type of insulting 
behavior. That is why I am introducing the Veterans' Cemetery 
Protection Act of 1997. This bill is a companion bill to one introduced 
in the House, H.R. 1532. This bill imposes criminal penalties for 
vandalism and theft at national cemeteries operated by the VA, the 
Department of Defense, and the Department of Interior. Penalties for 
vandalism and theft, are consistent with similar crimes against other 
Federal property. In addition, the bill establishes penalties for

[[Page S5132]]

attempted vandalism and theft. I am delighted that Senator McCain, a 
fellow veteran and true national hero, joins me in introducing this 
bill.
  Mr. President, as we pause to remember our fallen comrades, it is 
appropriate that we protect their final resting places. I invite may 
colleagues to join Senator McCain and me in supporting this 
legislation.
  Mr. McCain. Mr. President, I rise today to cosponsor the Veterans' 
Cemetery Protection Act of 1997, sponsored by my colleague and 
distinguished veteran, Senator Strom Thurmond.
  There is nothing more egregious than the desecration of our Nation's 
veterans' cemeteries. These men and women gave their lives to defend 
the United States and freedom throughout the world. This act will 
propose a penalty for theft or destruction of any property of a 
national cemetery. This is a simple piece of legislation and I hope my 
colleagues in the Senate will give their full support to this critical 
measure.
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