[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5629-S5630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise this morning to offer a tribute to 
our men and women in uniform.
  As we all know, President Bush will speak this evening to the Nation 
and mark the end of a major conflict in Iraq and acknowledge the 
heroism and sacrifice of our brave men and women in the Armed Forces. I 
know I speak for the people of my State of Texas and for all Americans 
when I give thanks that this operation has reached such a swift end, 
with so few coalition lives lost.
  Over the April recess, I took the opportunity to visit most of the 
military bases in my home State, along with my distinguished colleague 
Senator Hutchison. One in 10 active duty military personnel call Texas 
their home. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I am dedicated 
to looking after their interests and the interests of all of our 
military personnel.
  We must ensure that the United States military continues to have the 
training, the equipment, and the facilities they need to remain the 
greatest fighting force the world has ever known, both in war and in 
peace. The military bases we have in Texas are some of the strongest 
components of our military readiness in the current war against terror, 
from Afghanistan to Iraq and across the world. We must use these 
valuable assets to maintain our status as the world's lone superpower, 
as we transform our military to face the challenges of the future.
  Seeing our soldiers face to face reminds us that they are not just 
numbers or statistics. They are real Americans, true patriots, with 
real families. When someone leaves their home to fight for American 
interests abroad, it affects their entire community; it affects their 
friends and, most profoundly, it affects their families.
  We must remember not just the sacrifices of the brave men and women 
who fight on the battlefield but the sacrifices of the families they 
leave behind. I remember, most poignantly, as the deployment was 
occurring from Camp Lejeune, on CNN a young mother with her child was 
saying goodbye to her husband, the father of that child. I will never 
forget the comments she made. She said:


[[Page S5630]]


       I used to think that if he loved us, he would never leave 
     us. But now I know that he is leaving us because he loves us.

  We must remember the sons who have never seen the faces of their 
fathers, and mothers who are separated from their children. We must 
remember the families whose loved ones will not be coming back, who 
paid the ultimate price so that others can live free.
  Our own freedom was not won without cost but bought and paid for by 
the sacrifices of generations that have gone before. We must honor 
these heroic dead for their courage and their commitment to the dream 
that is freedom.
  On this same trip with Senator Hutchison, visiting our Texas military 
bases, I had the chance to meet with several of the former prisoners of 
war who had just returned to their homes. It was especially meaningful 
to me, because my dad was a POW in World War II. On a bombing mission 
over Mannheim, Germany, he was shot down and captured and spent 4 
months in a prison camp before General Patton and his Army came along 
and liberated him and others. Knowing the impact of my dad's 
experience, I have sensed a glimmer of the pain, the anxiety, and 
ultimately the joy of the families of these former POWs.
  I know, in time, as both the former captives and their loved ones 
learn the names of the rescuers, they will want to express their 
gratitude in person and continue to be thankful to a nation that 
recognizes the value of each and every human life.
  It strikes me that the Iraqi people's experience was much the same. 
No doubt the captivity of their nation was longer, more brutal, and 
more terrible than what our soldiers experienced. The pain of the Iraqi 
people was immeasurable. But now, at long last, their country has 
returned to them.
  In 1944, Winston Churchill spoke in the Royal Albert Hall to the 
British troops and reminded them that they served a cause greater than 
themselves. He said:

       We are joined together in this union of action which has 
     been forced upon us by our common hatred of tyranny. Shedding 
     our blood side by side, struggling for the same ideals, until 
     the triumph of the great causes which we serve shall be made 
     manifest. . . . Then, indeed, there will be a day of 
     thanksgiving, one in which all the world will share.

  There is a lot of work to be done in Iraq. But the difference our 
forces have made in such a short time is undeniable. Just a few short 
months ago, the idea that the Iraqi people could live free was a 
concept that some found hard to treat seriously. Now the dream of a 
free Iraq is in sight. The day of thanksgiving is not here yet, but it 
is coming. And thanks to the sacrifices of American families and 
America's warriors, it is coming soon.
  We as a grateful nation continue to wish our men and women in uniform 
godspeed, and we hope and pray for their swift return to the loving 
arms of their families.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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