[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2274-E2275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VETERANS' DAY 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, November 8, 1997

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, on the 11th day of the 11th month of the 
year 1997 we take time to remember those men and women who risked and 
sacrificed their lives for our Nation. It is a day to remember not only 
those who have lost their lives in battle but, also those who served 
valiantly and survived. Our greatness as a Nation could not have been 
achieved without the strong will and sacrifice of our citizens.
  Veterans Day has been an American tradition since 1919, when Woodrow 
Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day to commemorate the November 11, 1918, 
Armistice that ended the fighting between the Allies and the central 
powers. This was our first step onto the international scene. It was a 
day of observance and remembrance for the 58,000 Americans who had died 
in World War I.
  When the name for the day of observance was changed from Armistice 
Day to Veterans Day in 1954, it was proclaimed a day for honoring the 
veterans from all of our wars. The day however, still remained the 11th 
day of the 11th month, a date which marked the end of bloodshed that 
left the hope of lasting peace. While that peace did not last there is 
still hope that one day the world will learn to live together in 
harmony.
  Until then it is important to remember those men who fought for 
freedom and dreamed that their efforts would bring peace to the world.

[[Page E2275]]

Our service men and women have also been our models. They have set a 
standard for our Nation in the eyes of the world.
  As Woodrow Wilson stated on September 4, 1917: ``Let it be your 
pride, therefore, to show all men everywhere not only what good 
soldiers you are, but also what good men you are, keeping ourselves fit 
and straight in everything, and pure and clean through and through. Let 
us set for ourselves a standard so high that it will be a glory to live 
up to it, and then let us live up to it and add a new laurel to the 
crown of America.''
  If we do not remember, we might forget and then their efforts might 
have been in vain.
  President Eisenhower once called for Americans everywhere to 
rededicate themselves to the cause of peace. It is not only the job of 
our soldiers but the responsibility of all of us as American citizens 
to do what we can.
  Our Nation's veterans have secured our Nation not only from attack 
but have secured our principles of freedom, equality, and democracy. 
These are the principles by which we, as American citizens live by.
  For these reasons, let us remember all that our veterans have done 
for our Nation and our people not only today, but every day.

                          ____________________