[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PREVENTING CONVEYANCE OF VETERANS MEMORIALS TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS

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                           HON. BARBARA CUBIN

                               of wyoming

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce a bill that 
would preserve the sacred monuments to our fallen soldiers. This 
legislation would prevent the conveyance of any veterans memorial, or 
any part of any memorial, to a foreign government without the express 
consent of Congress. This has become an issue in recent months with the 
Bells of Balangiga, part of a veterans memorial at F.E. Warren Air 
Force Base in my home State of Wyoming. I strongly believe we should 
protect this and every other monument to the sacrifice made by our 
Armed Forces.
  Since the founding of our Republic over 200 years ago, our brave 
soldiers and sailors have been called upon to defend our liberties and 
preserve the vital national security interests of the United States. 
Many have given their lives in the line of duty.
  Many monuments dedicated to our veterans commemorate events that 
occurred abroad. As time passes, the memory of those who fought so 
gallantly in the service of our nation often fades. I believe it is 
absolutely essential to preserve the memory of our veterans who served 
their country when they were called.
  In an attempt to satisfy a request from the Philippine Government, 
there is a movement afoot to return the bells from the monument at F.E. 
Warren AFB. The Philippine Government would like the bells in time for 
its centennial celebration of independence from Spain. However, the 
bells are completely unrelated to the Spanish-American War.
  The bells, once used to call the faithful to worship were converted 
to instruments of war in 1901 when they were used to call insurgents to 
massacre unsuspecting American soldiers stationed in Balangiga, a 
village in the Philippines. Fifty-four Americans died in that attack. 
The twenty survivors of that brutal attack brought the bells back to 
Fort D.A. Russell, now F.E. Warren Air Force Base, as a memorial to 
their fallen comrades.
  When I harbor no malice towards the people of the Philippines, I 
believe the United States has an obligation to protect the memory of 
those who fought and died for their country. The Bells of Balangiga 
should not be simply dealt away in the conduct of foreign policy. This 
war memorial represents the blood and sweat invested by America to 
bring about an independent Philippines. I hope my colleagues will join 
me in prohibiting the conveyance of the Bells of Balangiga or any other 
veterans monument to a foreign government.

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