[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE PROCLAMATION OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1998 AS POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY FOR 
                          THE STATE OF NEVADA

 Mr. REID. Mr. President, recently, Governor Miller of Nevada, 
in support of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and 
Missing in Southeast Asia, proclaimed September 18, 1998 as POW/MIA 
Recognition Day in the state of Nevada. I am pleased to declare before 
the Senate my strong support for this proclamation.
  The proclamation reads as follows:

       Whereas today there are 2,118 Americans still missing and 
     unaccounted for from Southeast Asia, including 3 from the 
     State of Nevada, and their families, friends, and fellow 
     veterans still endure uncertainty concerning their fate; and
       Whereas we as Americans believe that freedom is precious 
     because it has been won and preserved for all at a very great 
     cost; and
       Whereas few Americans can more fully appreciate the value 
     of liberty and self-government than those Americans who were 
     interned in enemy prison camps as POWs and those who remain 
     missing in action; and
       Whereas the courage, commitment, and devotion to duty 
     demonstrated by those servicemen and women who risked their 
     lives for our sake has moved the hearts of all Nevadans; and
       Whereas, their dignity, faith, and valor reminds us of the 
     allegiance we owe to our nation and its defenders as well as 
     the compassion we owe to those families of the MIAs who daily 
     demonstrate heroic courage and fortitude in the face of 
     uncertainty;
       Now, therefore, I, Bob Miller, Governor of the State of 
     Nevada, do hereby proclaim September 18, 1998, as POW/MIA 
     Recognition Day.
       Mr. President, it is of paramount importance that we 
     continue to demand a full accounting of our servicemen and 
     women in foreign countries, in full respect and 
     acknowledgment of their unremitting courage and dedication in 
     placing their lives on the line as members of the United 
     States Armed Forces.
       The importance of this issue cannot be overstated. The 
     sacrifices of these brave men and women must never be 
     forgotten, and we must continue to strive to account for 
     every one of our missing service members. A full accounting 
     of our missing Americans is absolutely essential, not only 
     for our armed services personnel but for their families and 
     our nation. Similarly, we must see that they, like all our 
     other veterans, are forever recognized for the duty they 
     performed so valiantly when our country needed them.
       It is with these convictions that I support this 
     proclamation, establishing a Recognition Day for those who so 
     fully deserve our reciprocal dedication.

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