[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 148 (Friday, November 15, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2054-E2055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RABBI SILVER'S 2002 VETERANS DAY ADDRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES H. MALONEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Mr. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Rabbi Eric A. Silver, it is my 
honor to share the text of his 2002 Veterans Day address with the 
Members of the House. Rabbi Silver is a retired naval officer who 
earned the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart Medal for wounds he 
received in combat. Rabbi Silver is a man most deserving of our praise 
and respect. His address reads as follows:

       I am a veteran. This means that I wore the uniform of my 
     country, and I served, together with millions of American men 
     and women, defending America in various ways for the past two 
     hundred and twenty-six years. I am proud to be a veteran, 
     proud to stand before you this morning, at this solemn 
     moment, which commemorates the moment the guns went silent in 
     1918, for what many earnestly hoped would be the last time. 
     Alas, that dream was not to be.
       But this day speaks about more than that--it speaks about 
     every man and woman who served, and this morning I would like 
     to speak to you about a man who is, in my judgment, the 
     quintessential veteran--a man who embodies every ideal, every 
     virtue of, and citizenship that every veteran aspires to 
     emulate.
       Nearly two hundred and three years ago, George Washington 
     died, and in his eulogy, his friend Henry Lee dedicated his 
     words: ``To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in 
     peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.'' It wasn't 
     merely that Washington had become the first president of the 
     United States, or that he was the victorious commanding 
     general of the Revolution. Of course, by the time he was 
     chosen to be President, the mythology which had grown up 
     around this man was so large that it was difficult to 
     separate between the man and the legend, but it was, in 
     truth, his qualities as a veteran that set the pace for every 
     American Armed Services who would wear the uniform--in his 
     own time--and for all time to come. He set the pace for the 
     kind of military we would have, and for the way it would 
     function within the American system. And it is Washington, 
     the veteran that I should like to speak about, because every 
     one of us strove to emulate him.
       Washington was not a philosopher--at least not in the sense 
     that he was well-read in the classical works. In fact to some 
     this made him somewhat less than he might have been in their 
     eyes had he been able to quote from the works of the great 
     thinkers. He was, however, a practical philosopher. He had an 
     uncanny knack for learning on the job, and by his actions, 
     establishing a paradigm that others might follow.


       He was brave, to be sure. He was beyond brave. As a young 
     officer serving with General Braddock, it was noted that 
     Washington's uniform had several bullet holes in it. But he 
     understood that his men would never face fire if he were 
     unwilling to do so. That spirit would guide his actions 
     throughout the long and dark days of the Revolution, when 
     Washington was faced with troops who were frightened, who 
     melted away at the first sign of the enemy, and it was his 
     courage, his cool, calm demeanor that inspired his troops, 
     and rallied them.
       It was no accident that he was picked to lead the army of 
     this nascent Republic. He was, after all, a veteran, someone 
     who had already established himself by years of military 
     service. But there were others who were considered for the 
     post. John Hancock felt that he should have gotten the job, 
     for he would have led his troops directly against the British 
     and taught them a good lesson. And his army would quickly 
     have been obliterated, and the Revolution would have died in 
     its infancy. Charles Lee was highly regarded, and thought by 
     many to have the qualities needed, but he was sometimes too 
     cautious, and might have been willing to accept setbacks as 
     defeats. But neither man had the one quality which Washington 
     had which made him the best choice for an American commander, 
     and this was Washington's understanding of the military's 
     role in respect to the civilian authority, for this would 
     determine the kind of America that would exist after the 
     Revolution.
       America has never had a military takeover. More to the 
     point, America has never faced the threat of a military 
     takeover. The various political factions which have guided 
     this nation's destiny for two and a quarter centuries never 
     once relied upon the strength of our military to place or 
     keep them in power. If we had any indoctrination at all, it 
     was this: that in America, every one of us who wore the 
     uniform understood that we served under the authority of the 
     civilian arm. We didn't always agree with them, we sometimes 
     laughed at them, and we were sometimes angry with them, but 
     it never once crossed our minds that we should use the power 
     at our disposal to change things within this nation and make 
     them right.
       The inspiration for this ideal was General George 
     Washington who, at various times, had to remind his senior 
     officers that he--and they--were always under the control of 
     the Continental Congress. When we tell stories today about 
     how the military clashes with Congress, but how Congress 
     always has the upper hand, we need to keep in mind that it 
     was Washington who established that paradigm. He could have 
     done something quite different. In fact, when it was all 
     over, and it was realized that he was the general who had 
     defeated the world's mightiest military force, there were 
     more than mild suggestions that he should assume the royal 
     purple himself. After all, historically this is what all 
     conquering generals had done. The idea of a republic that 
     would govern such a large stretch of territory was unheard of 
     in history. The pattern was monarchy. Everyone understood 
     this clearly, and who better to be the sovereign than the man 
     who had so richly earned it. And we would go from one King 
     George to another.
       And so it seemed strange to many that, once the peace 
     treaty was signed and America's independence assured, 
     Washington made plain his intention to leave public life and 
     become Citizen Washington. It was quite a shock to many. In 
     fact, King George, when he learned of this said: ``If he 
     really intends to do this, then he is certainly the greatest 
     man alive.'' And he was. Just a few years later, when 
     Napoleon was defeated, he was asked why he had not--at the 
     peak of his powers--having assured the safety of France, 
     retired then to a well-earned and comfortable private life 
     filled with honor, rather than assuming the crown for 
     himself. He commented: ``Everyone expected me to be 
     Washington, and what they didn't understand is only 
     Washington was Washington.''
       Well, he was wrong about that, because every one of us who 
     has worn the uniform of America has a bit of Washington in 
     us. That was drummed into us from the outset--career military 
     or not, we are all citizen warriors. We wear the uniform, we 
     do our job, and then when that job is done, we become once 
     more the citizen. The dream of military conquest of our own 
     nation has never occurred to any one of us. And so it is that 
     those who have the weapons are the strongest protectors of 
     the American way of life, rather than its most threatening 
     force.
       And today, America is at war once again. We need to 
     understand that this time we face a threat to our existence 
     more powerful than any we have encountered to date. This will 
     truly be the Second War of American Independence, for upon 
     the success of this endeavor will depend the survival not 
     only of our nation, but of western civilization itself. It 
     will be a long war, it will be a conflict

[[Page E2055]]

     that will be bitterly fought--not only on battlefields that 
     will become increasingly more difficult to define, but in the 
     halls of deliberative bodies around the world by those whose 
     love of freedom and whose grasp of the reality of the 
     situation is not yet equal to the task. And this war will 
     produce veterans--men and women who will serve their country 
     and who will bring us the victory that this nation and 
     civilization demands--and who, once victory is assured, 
     will--in the time honored tradition set forth by our first 
     leader, return to private life as citizens.
       And today, America honors its veterans, not alway's 
     understanding what it is that they have accomplished, and not 
     always comprehending how they think. But we know, and that is 
     enough for us. So today--Veterans! Stand proud! For you have 
     served, and today your country honors you. And for those of 
     you who are not veterans, know what it is that these men and 
     women have done. And give them honor, for they have eamed 
     it--not merely for their bravery, but for their willingness--
     indeed their eagerness that once having had power, they 
     wanted only to return to their lives in their offices, their 
     farms, their shops--for they are the quintessential veterans. 
     They are Americans.

  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 5th District of Connecticut and the 
United States House of Representatives, I commend Rabbi Eric A. Silver 
for his honorable years of military service, and thank him for his 
remarks this Veteran's Day.

                          ____________________