[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 23, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E900-E901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MEMORIAL DAY 2001: COURAGE AND HEARTACHE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 23, 2001

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, for millions of Americans, this weekend's 
Memorial Day observance carries deep and personal significance. For two 
residents of southeastern Massachusetts, Lucy Duffy and Jim Cadigan, 
the solemn occasion will echo with courage and heartache, seared with 
the pain and pride of sacrifice on behalf of a grateful Nation.

                            Heading the Call

  When young Americans heeded President Woodrow Wilson's call to arms, 
one of those who crossed the Atlantic in the name of freedom was Sgt. 
Charles De Vries, an Army

[[Page E901]]

medic stationed at the Camp Mars-Sur-Allier, one of the largest 
American base hospitals in Europe
  During World War I, the French village of Saint Parize le Chatel and 
its neighboring hamlet of Moiry was home to this 44,000-bed facility. 
Day and night, Sgt. De Vries and his colleagues would tend to the 
wounded and dying.
  In war's shadow, Sgt. De Vries met Rebecca Goethe, a young French 
girl from a nearby town. They were married and, after the Armistice, 
returned to the United States to start a new life and family.
  This weekend, eight decades later, the daughter of that doughboy and 
village girl will represent the United States at ceremonies honoring 
Camp Mars-Sur-Allier--and the men and women who served and died there.
  On Saturday and Sunday, Lucy Duffy of Brewster, Massachusetts, will 
represent the United States as the Cercle Culturel d'Entradide 
Genealogique dedicates a permanent exhibit to the hospital.
  The people of the towns of St. Parize le Chatel and Moiry have never 
forgotten those who gave so unselfishly of themselves in the name of 
world peace. Located at the site of national cemetery where 2,000 
victims of the Great War are buried, the memorial is inscribed with 
these moving words: Aux Americains Morts Pour la France, Le Droit et La 
Liberte 1916-1918 (To the Americans who died for France, Right, and 
Liberty).


                            An American Hero

  Jim Cadigan of Hingham, Massachusetts, is a genuine American hero. 
Like an entire generation of Americans, he assumed the responsibility 
of our combat commitment in World War Two.
  On February 26, 1945, Second Lieutenant Cadigan, a member of Company 
C, 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10th Armored Division, led a 
platoon advancing on the German town of Zerf. Upon hearing that a 
second platoon had been ambushed and was pinned down by enemy fire, he 
charged fortified enemy positions perched on high ground and, without 
concern for his own safety, singlehandedly wiped out two German machine 
gun nests.
  Dozens of witnesses have testified that Lt. Cadigan killed or wounded 
50 Germans and took 85 prisoners. The trapped US platoon was able to 
escape and reorganize, saving scores of American lives.
  Without Jim Cadigan's heroism, it's likely that none of those men, or 
their children, would be alive today. To this day, at annual reunions, 
his comrades from that battlefield long ago in Zerf gather to swap old 
stories and meet new grandchildren; each year, his comrades travel long 
distances to salute a man who, quite literally, saved their lives.
  Jim Cadigan is a legend in his home town of Hingham as well. This 
weekend, he'll serve as Grand Marshal of the Hingham Memorial Day 
Parade. People of all ages, from WW2 vets to elementary school kids, 
will have the opportunity to greet the brave soldier form down the 
street who has inspired such pride and respect.


                             Hearts of Men

  In cities and towns all across America, Memorial Day will be marked 
with parades down Main Street, patriotic speeches on the town square, 
backyard barbecues and Little League games in the park. In many ways, 
this reflects the distinctly American values that Sgt. De Vries and Lt. 
Cadigan went overseas to fight to protect.
  For Cadigan and Duffy families, and countless others, Memorial Day is 
also a time for a quiet pilgrimage to cemeteries and memorials, for 
personal remembrance and reflection that stand the test of time.
  More than 20 centuries ago. Pericles offered a tribute to fallen 
Greek warriors that echoes to us through antiquity: ``Not only are they 
commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an 
unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of 
men.''

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