[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1690-E1691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          POW/MIA RECOGNITION WEEK IN MATAGORDA COUNTY, TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 1998

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, September 13 I will have the 
distinct pleasure of being the keynote speaker at the opening 
ceremonies for POW/MIA Recognition week in Matagorda County, Texas.
  This event will be sponsored by Matagorda County Veterans Services as 
a part of POW/MIA Recognition Week. Mr. Speaker, as a United States Air 
Force veteran I am well aware of the sacrifices which brave young men 
are required to make during times of war. Perhaps no better example of 
these sacrifices can be found than those endured by Prisoners of War 
and those Missing In Action. From ``Hanoi Hilton'' to ``Saving Private 
Ryan'' we have seen the dramatic horrors that war brings, but behind 
the stories, beyond the silver screen, there are real Private Ryan's 
who never do make it home. And there are families broken, lives 
affected and communities touched, by the real sacrifices of the real 
heroes who fight America's wars.
  I believe that no young man or woman has ever entered the military 
hoping to face combat, but most answer the call because they believe in 
the liberties which our nation was founded upon, and they see our 
nation as a beacon of liberty. It is to these young people that I wish 
to bring honor and it is to those who have become Missing, or are held 
Prisoner, to whom I believe this nation must pledge ongoing fealty. 
Specifically, I would like to memorialize U.S. Army Sergeant Joe Parks, 
from Matagorda County, who died while in captivity in Vietnam.
  Mr. Speaker, our nation has suffered a great burden as a result of 
the wars of this century, in some instances it has nearly been torn 
apart by these wars, but none have suffered more than those who are 
missing, and their families, many of whom still hope against hope that 
they will one day return, either to resume lives or to be granted a 
proper burial. Our nation still has some 93,000 individuals who are 
unaccounted for, some of whom are believed to be POW's even now during 
a time of relative peace. Mr. Speaker, I believe we owe it to these 
men, and to their families, to get a full accounting for every person 
which this nation has sent abroad. I believe we owe it to our nation to 
bring each and every one of them home.
  With the opening of archives from the former Soviet Union we have 
seen evidence of how young American servicemen were allowed to become 
political chess pieces for a totalitarian regime. It is due to the 
efforts of groups such as Matagorda County Veterans Services that we 
can honestly say ``You Are Not Forgotten'' to those who have sacrificed 
so much. And it is critical that we keep these memories forever etched 
in our minds so that we might also recall the mantra ``never again.'' 
Never again should Americans be forced to face the brutalities of war, 
such as those faced in Prisoner of War camps, and never again should we 
allow brave Americans to go missing in action.

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