[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1000-E1001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             D-DAY VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. SHADEGG

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 6, 2002

  Mr. SHADEGG. Mr. Speaker, on this, the 58th Anniversary of D-Day, I 
address the House to honor 6 heroic Arizonans.
  This past Monday I had the pleasure of awarding Don Benford, Joe 
Cicchinelli, Archie Dixon, Frank Kirinich, Mike Mills and Richard Thim 
the ``Jubilee of Liberty'' medal and a certificate of thanks from the 
French government for their outstanding bravery, valor and 
extraordinary service to the liberation of France.

[[Page E1001]]

  Fifty-eight years ago they stepped to the doors of their C-47 
transports and jumped into the dark, menacing embrace of the Normandy 
night. Fifty-eight years ago, the ramps of their landing crafts hit the 
pounding surf at Omaha and Utah beaches and they leapt forth into the 
teeth of terrible storm.
  They were the elite of the American Army and Air Corps. They were the 
pride of our entire nation. They were what Tom Brokaw later came to 
call our ``Greatest Generation.''
  As these gentlemen spearheaded the Allied invasion of France on that 
fateful summer night 58 years ago, they were taking an incredible leap 
of courage.
  Steven Spielberg has said that his depiction of D-Day in Saving 
Private Ryan actually underplayed the ferociousness of the battle. That 
gives some measure of the superhuman heroism and valor of our D-Day 
vets.
  It is no exaggeration to say they saved the world. And it is even 
less of an exaggeration to say they saved democracy for my generation--
and future generations.
  In his history of D-Day, Stephen Ambrose points out that Hitler 
thought that democracies were too weak to fight fascism, and that 
American soldiers--raised to believe in freedom and liberty--were soft 
and no match for his master race. But America's soldiers of democracy--
you and millions of other World War II veterans--were anything but 
soft. The Taliban, by the way, are learning the same lesson about 
today's Gls.
  These six Arizonans were able to storm the beaches of Normandy and 
win World War II precisely because they were fighting for liberty and 
freedom. They are the heart and soul of America.
  In some ways, modern society is very different from the nation that 
the men and women of D-Day knew, and it is sometimes fashionable to 
take a cynical view of the world. But when the calendar reads the 6th 
of June, such opinions are better left unspoken. No one who has heard 
and read about the events of D-Day could possibly remain a cynic.
  Army Private Andy Rooney was there to survey the aftermath. A 
lifetime later he would write, ``If you think the world is selfish and 
rotten, go to the cemetery at Colleville overlooking Omaha Beach. See 
what one group of men did for another on D-Day, June 6, 1944.''
  Mr. Speaker, I remain eternally grateful to all of the veterans who 
stormed the beaches at Normandy in the defense of freedom. Every 
American soldier who courageously fought for freedom deserves 
recognition and thanks from this Congress.

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