[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 88 (Thursday, June 27, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6261-S6262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STATEMENTS ON SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 293--DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 10 THROUGH 
NOVEMBER 16, 2002, AS ``NATIONAL VETERANS AWARENESS WEEK'' TO EMPHASIZE 
THE NEED TO DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS REGARDING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF 
                        VETERANS TO THE COUNTRY

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Cleland, Mrs. 
Clinton, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Miller, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Lugar, Ms. Collins, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Breaux, 
Mr. Dodd, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Helms, Mr. Baucus, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Johnson, 
Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Levin, Mr. Reid, Mr. 
Leahy, Mr. McCain, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. 
Inhofe, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Gregg, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Domenici, Mr. 
Hutchinson, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Bunning, Mr. 
Craig, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Carper, Mr. 
Inouye, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Warner, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. 
Dayton) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary

                              S. Res. 293

       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;
       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 future leaders of the Nation 
     understand the history of military action and the 
     contributions and sacrifices of those who conduct such 
     actions; and
       Whereas on October 30, 2001, President George W. Bush 
     issued a proclamation urging all Americans to observe 
     November 11 through November 17, 2001, as National Veterans 
     Awareness Week: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week of November 10 through November 16, 
     2002, 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) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States to observe 
     National Veterans

[[Page S6262]]

     Awareness Week with appropriate educational activities.

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I have the honor of joining with 50 
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.'' This marks the 
third year in a row that I have introduced such a resolution, which has 
been adopted unanimously by the Senate on both previous occasions.
  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. This goal takes 
on particular importance and immediacy this year as we find ourselves 
at war in the wake of the attack against us on our own territory.
  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. Even in the midst of our ongoing war 
against terrorism, with Americans in uniform finding themselves in 
harm's way around the world, many young people seem to be totally 
divorced from the implications of the conflict that is raging.
  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 two years ago by 
Samuel I. Cashdollar, who was then a 13-year-old seventh grader at 
Lewes Middle School in Lewes, DE. 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.
  National Veterans Awareness Week complements 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 also presents 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.
  Last year, my resolution designating National Veterans Awareness Week 
had 58 cosponsors and was approved in the Senate by unanimous consent. 
Responding to that resolution, President Bush issued a proclamation 
urging our citizenry to observe National Veterans Awareness Week. I ask 
my colleagues to continue this trend of support for our veterans by 
endorsing this resolution again this year. Our children and our 
children's 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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