[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 78 (Thursday, June 7, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING OUR PACIFIC AMERICAN VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2001

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 
second annual Roll Call of Honor In Remembrance Ceremony that occurred 
on May 27, 2001 at the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington Virginia 
and the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
  This celebration honors the sacrifices of thousands of Pacific 
Americans who have served our nation in our Armed Forces. What was once 
a veil of silence surrounding the contributions, courage, loyalty and 
dedication of our Pacific American veterans to our nation has now been 
lifted.
  By honoring our Pacific American veterans, and those who continue to 
serve our nation, we honor also all our veterans who call the Pacific 
their `aina.
  Their names are being placed on scrolls that will serve to remind us 
their loyalty, courage, leadership and compassion.
  On August 7, 1999 the Board of Directors of the Pacific American 
Foundation, a national organization dedicated to improving the lives of 
all Pacific Americans wherever they live, concurred with the Department 
of Veterans Affairs to conduct the first ever Roll Call of Honor in 
Remembrance Ceremony to recognize the dedicated service and outstanding 
contributions of Pacific American veterans--American Samoans, 
Chamorros, Fijians, Hawaiians, Maoris, Tahitians, Tongas--and those 
veterans who call the Pacific their `aina, to our nation.
  The Pacific American Foundation, in partnership with the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, Kaumakapili Church, Veterans Affairs Regional 
Office Center Hawaii, veteran organizations in the Pacific and families 
of our veterans is proud to continue to host the annual Roll Call of 
Honor in Remembrance Ceremony.
  Already research has revealed that Pacific Americans had served on 
the Confederate ship Shenandoah and fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.
  All our veterans are special, and by honoring our Pacific American 
veterans I salute all of America's men and women who answered the call 
to duty.
  The names of our Pacific American veterans on these scrolls will 
remind us forever of our nation's debt to their sacrifices.
  This celebration could not have happened without the leadership of 
the Pacific American Foundation's Leadership Fellows, Troy Asao 
Kaleolani Cooper and Michael K. Naho'opp'i and their colleagues, 
Pacific Americans who represent the future for our nation. I wish to 
commend their leadership that is being felt by millions of Americans 
today.
  It is this very type of selfless service that is lifting the 
shoulders and chins of the families whose loved ones gave their lives 
in defense of our freedoms, and it is certainly helping the millions of 
our military members and their families to know that we care.
  We can never forget.

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