[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 133 (Thursday, September 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11983-S11984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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     HONORING THE 55th ANNIVERSARY OF BLACK HILLS NATIONAL CEMETERY

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I wish to express our 
Nation's gratitude for the respectful services provided by Black Hills 
National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD. This year marks the 55th 
anniversary of the cemetery, and comes at a time when all Americans 
have been painfully reminded that our freedom is preserved by brave men 
and women in uniform who are willing to risk their lives in service to 
our Nation.
  In the summer of 1862, thousands of soldiers had already died in a 
terrible

[[Page S11984]]

war that few believed would last more than a matter of months. On July 
17 of that same year, Congress enacted legislation that would authorize 
the President to purchase cemetery grounds to be used as national 
cemeteries for soldiers who died while in service to the country. It 
was not long after that, in 1873, that all honorably discharged 
veterans became eligible for burial in national cemeteries. According 
to local legend, the hoofbeats of Custer's Cavalry may still be faintly 
heard today in the shadows of the Black Hills, where the Black Hills 
National Cemetery has provided a dedicated area for the honored burial 
of past and present South Dakota members of our Nation's armed forces 
and their eligible dependents for the past 55 years.
  Too often, it seems that Congress forgets those men and women who 
sacrificed a part of their lives to serve their country. In a Nation as 
wealthy as ours, the very least we can do to repay veterans for their 
service is to provide them with the final resting place they deserve. 
Today, the National Cemetery Association ensures our veterans have a 
proper burial, while also maintaining the national cemeteries as 
shrines to their memory. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, the ``nation 
must care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow 
and his orphan.''
  The Black Hills National Cemetery has long been part of that 
respected tradition since World War II, when the first four burials 
were conducted on September 27, 1948. Three additional burials were 
done before the official dedication of the Black Hills National 
Cemetery on October 3, 1948. Since those initial entombments, the 
remains of more than 17,000 courageous soldiers who have served their 
country have been laid to rest there, including South Dakota's only 
casualty from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Hans Gukheisen.
  The Black Hills National Cemetery is also the final resting place to 
such notable men as United States Senator Francis H. Case, who also 
gave the dedication address in 1948, suggesting that the Black Hills 
National Cemetery be the ``Arlington of the West,'' and Brigadier 
General Richard E. Ellsworth, Commander of the Rapid City Air Force 
Base, which was later renamed Ellsworth Air Force Base in his honor, 
was also laid to rest there.
  As the father of a soldier who has recently returned from Iraq, I 
have made it a priority to give veterans the recognition and treatment 
they deserve for their outstanding service to our country. I am proud 
to have the Black Hills National Cemetery located in my home State of 
South Dakota, and I am honored today to congratulate the Black Hills 
National Cemetery on their first 55 years of service. I know that our 
entire Nation shares in this expression of gratitude.

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