[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1412-E1413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           REMARKS AT TRUMAN PRESIDENTIAL MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

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                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2003

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege to deliver a few 
remarks at the opening ceremony of the new Korean War exhibit at the 
Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Missouri. My 
remarks are set forth as follows:

   Conflict and Consequence: The Korean War and its Unsettled Legacy

       Thank you for inviting me to be with you today for the 
     opening ceremonies of this important new exhibit at the 
     Truman Library. I am humbled to be here, particularly as we 
     honor those who served our country so nobly during the Korean 
     conflict.
       This library is a monument to the legacy and achievements 
     of Harry S. Truman and we are blessed to have this renowned 
     resource here in Independence. The Truman Library, and all of 
     our Presidential libraries, are dedicated to the preservation 
     of our nation's historical heritage, as repositories of 
     Presidential papers and memorabilia. As far as I'm concerned, 
     the mission of this Library--particularly its educational 
     function--has never been more important, and the exhibit the 
     Library opens to the public today is especially timely.
       I have to admit, and I'm sure this will come as no surprise 
     to anyone, that I am very sentimental about one of the 
     artifacts on display in this exhibition. You see, my father, 
     Ike Skelton III, was an attorney in Lafayette County and 
     became a friend of Truman's when they met on September 17, 
     1928. The occasion was the dedication of the Pioneer Mother 
     Statue--the Madonna of the Trail--located in my hometown of 
     Lexington, Missouri.
       They kept up this acquaintance, corresponding periodically, 
     so it seems right in character that my father, a fellow 
     veteran of World War One who served on the USS Missouri, sent 
     a telegram to President Truman after the President decided to 
     fire General Douglas MacArthur, letting him know that he 
     agreed with the decision and pledging his continued support 
     and that of Truman's friends in Lafayette County.
       This momentous decision--reaffirming the supremacy of 
     civilian control of the military--is full of the drama that 
     makes our history fascinating. And I hope that for others who 
     see this document, this personal note to the President from 
     one of his Missouri friends, it will be meaningful as well.
       I know that with the library professionals and historians 
     in the audience I am preaching to the choir, but I am a big 
     believer in the power of history, as was Harry Truman. Truman 
     was an avid reader and student of history. My friend, the 
     late Congressman Fred Schwengel, told me about meeting 
     Senator Truman in 1935 while Schwengel was a college student 
     in Missouri. Truman advised him that to be a good American, 
     ``...you should know your history.''
       That story is consistent with my experience. I well 
     remember taking a group of grade school students to visit the 
     Truman Library in 1963, and though President Truman was of 
     advanced age, he spoke to them in the library auditorium 
     about American history and the Constitution. He wanted young 
     people to learn as much as they could about America.
       I do my best to encourage people, particularly young 
     people, to study history. I have embarked on a school visit 
     program I call ``History Matters'', which gives me the chance 
     to talk about the importance of history whenever I visit 
     schools. I also recently issued a 50-book national security 
     reading list, which is heavy on biographies and histories, 
     including the books I recommend to Members of Congress, 
     military officers, and anyone interested in learning about 
     character, leadership, and military art.
       Why do I believe it is so important to keep up our efforts 
     to promote a broad knowledge of history? Let me share this 
     with you for a little perspective. The college student 
     interns who are working in my office this summer were only 
     about 8 years old in 1989 when we witnessed the end of the 
     Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall. This major event, 
     as well as the many other significant events and crisis 
     points of the Cold War, are far-removed from them. By no 
     fault of their own, they did not experience these events the 
     way many of us did.
       It took 50 years of national commitment to see the collapse 
     of communism in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. But in 
     spite of the cessation of hostilities in Korea in 1953, U.S. 
     troops still deploy to South Korea to deter invasion from the 
     North. The totalitarian regime of North Korea continues to 
     rattle sabers and threaten not only the future of peace on 
     the peninsula but peace in the region and the world.
       Today's college students have lived long enough to 
     experience missile threats from North Korea, including 
     nuclear threats. In spite of the prosperity of the South, and 
     in spite of the passage of more than 50 years, many of the 
     issues splitting the Korean Peninsula are still with us. This 
     exhibit, which

[[Page E1413]]

     opens today, will be of invaluable help to all of us, but 
     particularly our young people, to understand where we have 
     been and where we are today.
       For the last several years, we have recognized and 
     commemorated many of the significant events and milestones of 
     the 20th century. Sometimes when we look back on the past, we 
     tend to remember ``the good old days'' and think that day-to-
     day life in America is much more difficult now than it was 
     before. Without a doubt, our country today, in the infancy of 
     the 21st Century, faces significant challenges. But it does 
     us good to remember that the circumstances and state of the 
     world presented to Truman during his Presidency were 
     extraordinarily daunting.
       Like the Presidents who came before and after him, Truman 
     was burdened with the loneliness that goes along with being 
     the Chief Executive. But President Truman's character ensured 
     that he did not shy away from difficult, often politically 
     unpopular, decisions. He once said, ``Do your duty and 
     history will do you justice.''
       America had endured the Great Depression. Along with our 
     allies, America fought a long and costly war against fascism. 
     Although there was an understandable euphoria following 
     victory in World War II, the state of the world prompted 
     Truman to move away from America's established pattern of 
     peacetime isolationism in order to assist European economic 
     recovery through the Marshall Plan and to protect Western 
     Europe under the umbrella of the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization. Almost immediately, Harry Truman was forced to 
     confront the reality of the Cold War, and the struggle of the 
     U.S. and other western democracies was on to stop the spread 
     of communism.
       Truman had the courage to stand up to the communist 
     aggression that marked the beginning of the Cold War. The 
     Truman Doctrine made clear that the United States would not 
     stand idly by in the face of communist aggression in Greece, 
     Turkey, and elsewhere. Truman's commitment to the democratic 
     rights of free people was clear as the U.S. provided 
     essential supplies to the people of Berlin during the Soviet 
     blockade.
       And fifty-three years ago, President Harry S. Truman made 
     the agonizing decision to use American troops to lead the 
     United Nation's resistance to the communist invasion of South 
     Korea. Over the next three years, more than 54,000 Americans 
     paid the ultimate price, with over 33,000 killed in action. 
     Over 110,000 Americans were wounded or missing in action. In 
     addition, over 228,000 South Korean soldiers and untold 
     numbers of civilians gave their lives.
       These stark statistics serve as a reminder to all of us 
     that the slogan ``freedom is not free'' is more than just a 
     few words. The sacrifices of thousands of American service 
     members purchased the freedom that South Koreans enjoy to 
     this day, a freedom that our military continues to protect.
       In many respects, our participation in the Korean conflict 
     has served as model for the way our military operates today. 
     Korea was the first multilateral United Nations operation, 
     and it has become the longest standing peacekeeping operation 
     in modern times. The unfortunate experience of Task Force 
     Smith has taught us the paramount importance of sending 
     forces into battle only when they are adequately trained and 
     equipped. We have also learned that units cannot be thrown 
     piecemeal into battle but must be engaged in a coordinated 
     fashion with air and sea power and with overwhelming force. 
     The lessons of the Korean War, taught at such great cost, 
     have served us well in the conflicts in which we have 
     participated since then, from Viet Nam to the Persian Gulf 
     War to Bosnia, Kosovo, and the War on Terrorism.
       As much as we may be inclined to remember the leaders who 
     ultimately brought us victory in the Korean War--Truman, 
     MacArthur, Acheson, Walker, and Ridgway--it is really the men 
     and women who served so bravely to whom we pay tribute. 
     Without their selfless dedication, valor, and perseverance, 
     the people of South Korea would not be living in a free 
     and prosperous society.
       To the veterans of the Korean conflict--those who are with 
     us today, those who never returned home, and those who we 
     have lost in the years since--we say thank you. Each of you 
     who lost friends or family members who died during this 
     conflict understand that their loss creates a void that can 
     never be filled. Three of my close friends--a high school 
     classmate, a Boy Scout buddy, and a friend from Wentworth 
     Military Academy Junior College--were killed in Korea. You 
     were the ones who carried out the orders of the Commander-In-
     Chief, President Truman, who drew a line in the sand. This 
     line was held by your blood, sweat, and tears. You gave of 
     your youth to stop the spread of communism. I maintain that 
     these fledgling efforts, these supreme sacrifices, were the 
     foundation of our victory in the Cold War, some 50 years 
     later.
       I know that you must feel a special kinship with our men 
     and women who today are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom 
     and Operation Iraqi Freedom. You, perhaps as much as anyone, 
     understand the hardship of fighting a war, a continent away 
     from home, a war to ensure the survival of a nation and a way 
     of life. What they are doing today will set the stage for the 
     next 50 years, and I suspect that, like the Cold War, it may 
     well be 50 years before we know for sure whether we have won 
     the War Against Terrorism and brought peace and stability to 
     the Middle East in the wake of the Iraq War.
       We would all do well to live by Truman's advice, ``Do your 
     duty, and history will do you justice.'' The tough decisions 
     made by Truman earned the praise of British Prime Minister 
     Winston Churchill who said to Truman, ``You, more than any 
     other man, have saved Western civilization.'' History has 
     indeed done justice and given evidence to Truman's wisdom, 
     strength, and vision. May what we learn from the past enable 
     us to do our duty today as well.
       God bless.

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