[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise to remind everyone that 
today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. On this day, we should 
remember, give tribute to, and stand in solidarity with the loved ones 
and families of the thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen 
who were or are Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. I am humbled by 
and grateful for their love of country and their sense of duty and 
honor.
  Amidst the somber thoughts, the feelings of gratitude and pride that 
this day brings, as a Nation we must be uneasy. Uneasy because while we 
are a nation at peace and the wars in which these men fought are long 
over, they have not all returned home and we should not rest until 
their families have their loved ones back.
  These Americans swore an oath to support and defend the constitution 
and carried that promise through to the ultimate sacrifice for this 
great nation. While thousands died, many others endured years in 
starved, tortured, isolated misery before regaining the freedoms we 
enjoy. Their persistence, integrity and heroism are shining examples of 
the core values on which this nation was founded and became great.
  Mr. President, we need to produce results. Headway is being made, but 
there is still a long way to go before we have the fullest possible 
accounting of all POW/MIA personnel.
  Over the past six years, 136 Americans have been accounted for from 
Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia thanks to extensive field work. Earlier this 
month, thanks to the US-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAS established 
in 1991, seventeen airmen were at long last identified, returned to 
their native soil laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. These 
brave airmen were shot down over Soviet Armenia in 1958, during the 
height of the Cold War. For their loved ones and family members, the 
long wait is over, but by no means will their loss or sacrifices be 
forgotten. For many, however, the anguish continues.
  While much of the focus on POW/MIAs has rightly been on Southeast 
Asia where 2081 personnel remain unaccounted for, we must also honor 
those who were held prisoner and who are missing in action in other 
remote parts of the globe. More than 80,000 Americans remain missing 
and unaccounted for from World War I, World War II and the Korean 
conflict, and countless others from the Cold War.
  These great Americans and their families have the gratitude of a 
great and free nation, but we in the Senate shall not rest until all 
are returned or accounted for. I urge you, Mr. President, the 
Administration, the Departments of Defense and State, the Joint Chiefs 
of Staff and the National Security Agency to redouble their efforts to 
bring our boys hone as quickly as possible. Let us all take to heart 
the motto from the POW/MIA flag, which flies over the Capitol today, 
and which is displayed every day in the Capitol rotunda: ``YOU ARE NOT 
FORGOTTEN.''

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