[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 145 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12744-S12745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 1745. A bill to designate a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action 
National Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, 
California; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Prisoner of 
War/Missing in Action National Memorial Act of 2003. This bill would 
designate the POW/MIA memorial currently being built at Riverside 
National Cemetery in California as the National POW/MIA Memorial. This 
monument would be a memorial to all members of the Armed Forces who 
have been held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action.
  We should always remember and pay tribute to the men and women who 
are fighting for our Nation now and have fought for our Nation in the 
past, including those who have never returned home. Over 89,000 members 
of the Armed Forces have been listed as missing since the American 
Revolution.
  The families of these missing men and women have had to try to go on 
with their lives without ever knowing what happened. Many of them have 
been unable to grieve for their loved ones as they typically would, and 
many of them have been unable to have a proper burial. The families of 
our missing in action across the country should know that their nation 
remembers their loved one, and honors them by dedicating this national 
memorial in Riverside, CA.
  In addition to the missing soldiers, airmen, sailors, and others, 
there have been over 586,000 members of the Armed Forces who have been 
taken

[[Page S12745]]

prisoner since the American Revolution. In the 20th Century alone, 
there were over 142,000 Americans taken as prisoners of war.
  I would like to thank Congressman Ken Calvert, who introduced the 
House version of this bill in May. I commend him for his leadership in 
honoring Americans missing in action and taken as prisoners of war.
  There is no national memorial for both POWs and MIAs; there is not 
even a statue dedicated to their memory. It is time that the United 
States recognize the sacrifice that these American POWs and MIAs have 
made, and designate the memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery as 
the National POW/MIA Memorial.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.
                                 ______