[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 74 (Wednesday, June 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1006-E1007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING 225TH BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 13, 2000

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 
101, commemorating the 225th birthday of the United States Army.
  As a proud supporter of the Army, of its men and women in uniform as 
well as the many civilian employees who work alongside them, I am 
pleased that we are taking time today to recognize their contributions 
to our national security.
  Since the War of Independence was fought to first gain our nation's 
liberty, the Army has been there to protect and defend that freedom, 
and to fight to extend that right to other nations as well. The Army 
reinforced our fledgling country's freedom during the War of 1812, 
fought with valor in the Civil War, and charged up San Juan Hill with 
Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. The Army fought in the trenches 
of Europe in the ``War to End All Wars,'' then returned to storm the 
beaches of Normandy a generation later. The Army fought the ``Cold 
Wars'' of Korea and Vietnam, and the conflicts and insurgencies that 
followed, and stormed the deserts of Kuwait. And, every day, our Army 
guards our borders and keeps our nation strong and secure.
  Only recently have we begun to learn some of the stories of the brave 
men and women who defended our nation's freedom during World War II 
because of movies like ``Saving Private Ryan,'' books such as ``Citizen 
Soldier,'' and the recent opening of the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, 
Louisiana. They are the stories of the soldiers who watched the 
shrapnel ``come down like rain'' in the Hurtgen Forest in Germany, and 
who ``grew up overnight'' on the beaches of Normandy.
  But we should not forget the stories of the other men and women who 
served in the Army, including the estimated 480,000 who wear the 
uniform today. Every day these men and women put their lives on the 
line for us, asking little in return. It is because of these men and 
women, and the countless ones who served before them, that we enjoy the 
many benefits of freedom and liberty today. And we should take the 
opportunity to thank them for their service and dedication to our 
nation.
  But I also want to take time today to recognize the contributions of 
one Army base in my district, Picatinny Arsenal, which pre-dates our 
Army! The ``Middle Forge'' that was established at the base of 
Picatinny Peak in 1749 evolved into an iron works which provided cannon 
shot, bar iron, shovels and axes for General George Washington's 
Revolutionary Army.
  Designated as the Picatinny Powder Depot in 1880 by the War 
Department, the installation began producing explosives. During World 
War I, Picatinny produced everything from rifle ammunition to large 
caliber Navy projectiles.
  The ``modern'' facility dates back to a massive explosion at 
Picatinny in 1926, after which the arsenal was rebuilt and expanded. As 
a result, during World War II, the government turned to Picatinny and 
its nearly 20,000 military and civilian employees to produce bombs, 
explosives, fuzes, artillery ammunition and other critical ordinance 
needed to support our forces who were fighting for freedom around the 
world. And, ultimately, the Army consolidated all weapons system 
research at Picatinny in 1977.
  Today, Picatinny is a premier research and development facility which 
has produced the Crusader Self-Propelled Howitzer, the Lightweight 
155mm Towed Howitzer, the Objective Individual Combat and Crew Served 
Weapons, the Precision Guided Mortar Munition and the Wide Area 
Munition. In addition, Picatinny's researchers have developed fuzes, 
pyrotechnics and non-lethal systems in use by the Army and other 
services as well.
  Despite reductions in personnel, and funding, to Army R&D 
installations across the country, Picatinny Arsenal continues to excel 
and exceed all expectations. Last month, I was honored to attend a 
ceremony at the Pentagon where Picatinny Arsenal was presented with 
this year's Commander in Chief's Award for Installation Excellence. 
This is an elite honor, bestowed upon the top Army, Navy, Air Force and 
Marine installations in the nation, and Picatinny Arsenal just received 
that award for the second time in five years!
  The men and women of Picatinny Arsenal are a unique and special 
group, military and civilians alike. Year after year, as we have seen 
overall defense spending decrease, they have been asked to do more with 
less, and have risen to the challenge by continuing to excel at their 
missions. The ammunition and weapons systems developed at Picatinny 
Arsenal are used by every soldier in the Army, every day. Many of the 
new technologies engineered at Picatinny have no equal in the world.
  By winning this award, Picatinny has proven to all what I have long 
known--that they are the best of the best in the Army. And today, I pay 
tribute to those men and women, and to all they have accomplished 
behind the scenes to secure our nation's liberty.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer my support to H.J. Res. 
101, and urge all my colleagues to do the same.

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