[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 146 (Wednesday, November 13, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO REX ROBLEY

 Mr. BUNNING. Madam President, I rise today among my fellow 
colleagues to honor and pay tribute to Kentucky's last surviving World 
War I veteran. Of the 84,000 Kentuckians who were sent to fight in 
World War I, Rex Robley, 91 years young from Louisville, KY, is 
believed to be the only one still alive. This man has sacrificed and 
accomplished so much in just one lifetime. He truly exemplifies the 
American spirit.
  Monday, we as a Nation came together to celebrate Veterans Day. On 
this very important day, every American has the opportunity and the 
obligation to thank and honor those who so valiantly fought for our 
freedoms, rights and liberties in the trenches of France, the beaches 
of Normandy, the jungles of Korea and Vietnam and the deserts of Iraq. 
These men and women fought so that future generations would be able to 
live under a blanket of freedom that reaches from coast to coast.
  Sadly, thousands of these veterans are dying off in large numbers 
every year. During the 1990s, the number of World War II veterans in 
Kentucky decreased by nearly 54,000. The Kentucky Department of Veteran 
Affairs calculates that, on an average day, Kentucky loses 22 military 
veterans, of whom 17 were in World War II. To ensure that this country 
continues to build and prosper, we must make a promise to ourselves to 
never forget the sacrifices these individuals have made. It is their 
memory that will guide us in the right direction.

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