[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 1, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             FALLEN HEROES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 20, 2004

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember our veterans and to 
mourn all our losses. Our words today cannot match the eloquence or 
power of the moment of silence that preceded them because that silence 
reflects all the voices that have been stilled by war.
  Each Memorial Day we pause to remember those who have fallen in the 
service of our country. Sadly, in the last year we have added hundreds 
of names to that tragic roll call.
  Among those names is that of twenty-six year old Specialist Joseph 
Carl Norquist, of Oakland, California in my district. Specialist 
Norquist died in Iraq on October 9, 2003. He was serving in the 588th 
Engineering Battalion. He died when his convoy came under fire, and he 
posthumously received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
  Today, my thoughts and prayers go out to Specialist Norquist's family 
and friends and to all of those who mourn loved ones that they have 
lost.
  This weekend, we also dedicate the World War II Memorial on the 
Washington Mall, to honor the service of those veterans, to recognize 
their tremendous sacrifice, and to shudder to think for a moment about 
what our world might have been like had they not served.
  Mr. Speaker, on Memorial Day, we are especially aware of the terrible 
costs of war. Let us also then re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of 
peace so that we can dream of a year when we add no new names to the 
roster of those who have fallen in battle.

                          ____________________