[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8482-S8484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 143--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ON VETERANS' CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
COUNTRY AND THE DESIGNATION OF THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11 THROUGH NOVEMBER
17, 2001, AS ``NATIONAL VETERANS AWARENESS WEEK''
Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Graham, Mr. Levin, Mr.
Santorum, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Dodd,
Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Dorgan,
Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Inouye, Ms. Landrieu, Mr.
Leahy, Mr. Miller, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Reid, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Bingaman,
Mr. Byrd, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. McCain,
Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Brownback, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Warner, Ms. Stabenow,
Mr. Domenici, Mr. Voinovich, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Chafee, Mr. DeWine, Mr.
Grassley, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Inhofe, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Thurmond, Ms. Collins,
Mr. Carper, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Smith of New
Hampshire, and Mr. Bond) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 143
Whereas tens of millions of Americans have served in the
Armed Forces of the United States during the past century;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their
lives while serving in the Armed Forces during the past
century;
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Whereas the contributions and sacrifices of the men and
women who served in the Armed Forces have been vital in
maintaining our freedoms and way of life;
Whereas the advent of the all-volunteer Armed Forces has
resulted in a sharp decline in the number of individuals and
families who have had any personal connection with the Armed
Forces;
Whereas this reduction in familiarity with the Armed Forces
has resulted in a marked decrease in the awareness by young
people of the nature and importance of the accomplishments of
those who have served in our Armed Forces, despite the
current educational efforts of the Department of Veterans
Affairs and the veterans service organizations;
Whereas our system of civilian control of the Armed Forces
makes it essential that the Nation's future leaders
understand the history of military action and the
contributions and sacrifices of those who conduct such
actions; and
Whereas on June 14, 2001, the Senate adopted an amendment
to the Better Education for Students and Teachers Act
expressing the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of
Education should work with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
the Veterans Day National Committee, and the veterans service
organizations to encourage, prepare, and disseminate
educational materials and activities for elementary and
secondary school students aimed at increasing awareness of
the contributions of veterans to the prosperity and freedoms
enjoyed by United States citizens: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the week of November 11 through November 17, 2001, be
designated as ``National Veterans Awareness Week'' for the
purpose of emphasizing educational efforts directed at
elementary and secondary school students concerning the
contributions and sacrifices of veterans; and
(2) the President should issue a proclamation calling on
the people of the United States to observe such week with
appropriate educational activities.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I have the honor of joining with 51
of my colleagues in submitting a resolution expressing the sense of the
Senate that the week that includes Veterans' Day this year be
designated as ``National Veterans Awareness Week.'' The purpose of
National Veterans Awareness Week is to serve as a focus for educational
programs designed to make students in elementary and secondary schools
aware of the contributions of veterans and their importance in
preserving American peace and prosperity.
Why do we need such an educational effort? In a sense, this action
has become necessary because we are victims of our own success with
regard to the superior performance of our armed forces. The plain fact
is that there are just fewer people around now who have had any
connection with military service. For example, as a result of
tremendous advances in military technology and the resultant
productivity increases, our current armed forces now operate
effectively with a personnel roster that is one-third less in size than
just 10 years ago. In addition, the success of the all-volunteer
career-oriented force has led to much lower turnover of personnel in
today's military than in previous eras when conscription was in place.
Finally, the number of veterans who served during previous conflicts,
such as World War II, when our military was many times larger than
today, is inevitably declining.
The net result of these changes is that the percentage of the entire
population that has served in the Armed Forces is dropping rapidly, a
change that can be seen in all segments of society. Whereas during
World War II it was extremely uncommon to find a family in America that
did not have one of its members on active duty, now there are numerous
families that include no military veterans at all. As a consequence of
this lack of opportunity for contacts with veterans, many of our young
people have little or no connection with or knowledge about the
important historical and ongoing role of men and women who have served
in the military. This omission seems to have persisted despite ongoing
educational efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
veterans service organizations.
This lack of understanding about military veterans' important role in
our society can have potentially serious repercussions. In our country,
civilian control of the armed forces is the key tenet of military
governance. A citizenry that is oblivious to the capabilities and
limitations of the armed forces, and to its critical role throughout
our history, can make decisions that have unexpected and unwanted
consequences. Even more important, general recognition of the
importance of those individual character traits that are essential for
military success, such as patriotism, selflessness, sacrifice, and
heroism, is vital to maintaining these key aspects of citizenship in
the armed forces and even throughout the population at large.
Among today's young people, a generation that has grown up largely
during times of peace and extraordinary prosperity and has embraced a
``me first'' attitude, it is perhaps even more important to make sure
that there is solid understanding of what it has taken to attain this
level of comfort and freedom. The failure of our children to understand
why a military is important, why our society continues to depend on it
for ultimate survival, and why a successful military requires integrity
and sacrifice, will have predictable consequences as these youngsters
become of voting age. Even though military service is a responsibility
that is no longer shared by a large segment of the population, as it
has been in the past, knowledge of the contributions of those who have
served in the Armed Forces is as important as it has ever been. To the
extent that many of us will not have the opportunity to serve our
country in uniform, we must still remain cognizant of our
responsibility as citizens to fulfill the obligations we owe, both
tangible and intangible, to those who do serve and who do sacrifice on
our behalf.
The importance of this issue was brought home to me last year by
Samuel I. Cashdollar, who was then a 13-year-old seventh grader at
Lewes Middle School in Lewes, Delaware. Samuel won the Delaware VFW's
Youth Essay Contest that year with a powerful presentation titled ``How
Should We Honor America's Veterans''? Samuel's essay pointed out that
we have Nurses' Week, Secretaries' Week, and Teachers' Week, to rightly
emphasize the importance of these occupations, but the contributions of
those in uniform tend to be overlooked. We don't want our children
growing up to think that Veterans Day has simply become a synonym for
department store sale, and we don't want to become a Nation where more
high school seniors recognize the name Britney Spears than the name
Dwight Eisenhower.
Now, it is appropriate to ask, ``We already have Veterans Day, why do
we need National Veterans Awareness Week?''. Historically, Veterans Day
was established to honor those who served in uniform during wartime.
Although we now customarily honor all veterans on Veterans Day, I see
it as a holiday that is focused on honoring individuals, the courageous
and selfless men and women without whose actions our country would not
exist as it does. National Veterans Awareness Week would complement
Veterans Day by focusing on education as well as commemoration, on the
contributions of the many in addition to the heroism and service of the
individual. National Veterans Awareness Week would also present an
opportunity to remind ourselves of the contributions and sacrifices of
those who have served in peacetime as well as in conflict; both groups
work unending hours and spend long periods away from their families
under conditions of great discomfort so that we all can live in a land
of freedom and plenty.
Earlier this year, the Senate adopted my amendment to the education
bill calling on the Department of Education to assist in the
development of educational programs to enlighten our country's students
about the contributions of veterans. Last year, my Resolution
designating National Veterans Awareness Week had 60 cosponsors and was
approved in the Senate by unanimous consent. I ask my colleagues to
continue this trend of support for our veterans by endorsing this
resolution again this year. Our children and our childrens' children
will need to be well informed about what veterans have accomplished in
order to make appropriate decisions as they confront the numerous
worldwide challenges that they are sure to face in the future.
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