[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about our Nation's 
celebration of Veterans Day next Tuesday. In doing so, I would like to 
take a few minutes to tell a short story; a story that I think needs 
retelling from time to time lest we forget some of the history that 
makes our heritage so special. Please forgive my use of a little 
artistic license for the sake of narration.
  My story begins in the fall of 1947 in Birmingham, AL. Close to the 
drug store where this story begins is a memorial honoring the 
Confederate Army's 10th Alabama Regiment. The men of this incredibly 
fine unit made a now famous charge up the slope of Little Round Top at 
Gettysburg on a hot day in July 1864. Imagine, if you will, these brave 
souls charging, without hesitation, bravely up that wooded slope toward 
the Union's 20th and Maine, a unit known to many and commanded by Col. 
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. For many dressed in Blue and Gray, the 
last steps they would ever take were made that fateful day.
  This is not an unfamiliar story in war; men going away from their 
home and their families to place their lives on the line for their 
country; taking each breath in combat and wondering if it would be 
their last. Mr. Raymond Weeks, one of the heroes of this story, knew 
the horrors of war. He had just returned home from the Pacific theater. 
He knew as well the trials and tribulations of fighting in a war and he 
knew too of wearing the title of ``veteran.'' His circumstance, Mr. 
President, was similar to that of my father, now deceased, who had 
likewise just returned from the Pacific, to open a general store with a 
gristmill in the small community of Hybart, AL.
  On that fall day in 1947, Raymond had stopped in his local drug store 
where he bumped into some of his buddies who had also returned home 
from overseas. Talk at the drug store turned to the upcoming 
celebration of Armistice Day, started nationally just nine years before 
in 1938. You see, Mr. President, many Americans still remember when, on 
November 11 of each year, America and the world celebrated the signing 
of the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty commemorating the armistice 
that ended the First World War on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of 
the 11th month of the year in 1918. Thus ended ``the war to end all 
wars.''
  Yet, years later, World War II also stole the youth of many nations 
and many of Raymond's and my father's friends as well. Raymond Weeks 
suggested that the group should ``do something'' in town to honor the 
memory of those comrades who had fallen in battle. With that, this 
small group of men began planning a local celebration to honor not just 
the veterans of World War I and the Versailles Armistice, but of World 
War II, and American veterans of all wars.

  On Armistice Day, 1947 the very first Veterans Day parade was held in 
Birmingham, AL. The parade drew such a great turnout that it became a 
yearly event, even though there was no official national recognition of 
Veterans Day at that point.
  Over time Raymond Weeks formed a small committee and eventually 
traveled to Washington, DC, to approach then Army Chief of Staff, Gen. 
Dwight D. Eisenhower with their idea for a national holiday. History 
records that General Eisenhower expressed immediate approval and 
referred the idea to Congressman Edward Rees of Kansas. Subsequently, 
H.R. 7786 became Public Law 380, a law which changed the name of 
Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Passed by Congress, the bill was signed 
into law, ironically, by President Eisenhower on June 1, 1954.
  What Raymond Weeks did was remarkable; even extraordinary. The 
Veterans Day Raymond Weeks helped to create does more, Mr. President, 
than just honor those who served in America's Armed Forces. Veterans 
Day, as hosted by Bill Voight and the National Veterans Day Committee 
and still celebrated annually in Birmingham, AL, extends its boundaries 
beyond those who fought in Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and Desert 
Storm, it extends its reach to those who serve today in the ships 
conducting NEO operations off the coast of Africa, in the tanks manning 
outposts in Bosnia, to the sandy slopes of the Sinai, and to the cold 
ridges of the DMZ in Korea. There should be no doubt that Veterans Day 
is a special day that pays annual homage to the ongoing sacrifices of 
our men and women in uniform.
  While we were home, safe, these veterans were spread around the globe 
protecting our liberty and freedom and our security. To them a great 
debt is owed.
  Veterans Day, Mr. President, acknowledges the responsibilities and 
the special burden's that our Nation's men and women shouldered in the 
past. It acknowledges too the responsibilities and burdens of those in 
uniform today. And it calls on each of us to honor the legacy of 
veterans past and the dedication of today's military personnel, by 
renewing our responsibility to ensure that our Nation remains the 
strongest on earth, fully able to defend its just national interests 
whereever and whenever they are challenged.
  To all those great Alabamians and Americans who paid the ultimate 
sacrifice, to all those who survived, and to those who serve today, it 
is fitting that we pause with a humble and grateful heart and say thank 
you for their sacrifices which have kept us free.
  God bless the United States of America and may we be worthy of His 
blessing.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks recognition?
  Mr. BINGAMAN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sessions). The Senator from New Mexico.

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