[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 124 (Thursday, September 29, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1997-E1998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SUPPORTING GOLD STAR MOTHERS DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2005

  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 
61, Supporting the Goals and Ideals of Gold Star Mothers Day. I am 
proud to be a cosponsor of this important resolution, which honors the 
mothers of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
  We often invoke the sacrifices of our nation's fallen in general. 
Seldom do we take the time to thank them and their families 
individually. In June and July of this year, I joined 21 other members 
from both sides of the aisle to read the names of each of our fallen on 
the house floor. I am pleased to have this opportunity to recognize an 
thank the mothers of these individual heroes.
  President Franklin D. Roosevelt once wrote to the mother of a fallen 
serviceman, ``He stands in the unbroken line of Patriots who have dared 
to die that freedom might live, and grow and increase its blessings. 
Freedom lives, and through it he lives, in a way that humbles the 
undertakings of most men.''
  Organizations such as American Gold Star Mothers keep the memory of 
these heroes alive, as they help fellow mothers and family members of 
the fallen work through the grief of losing a loved one. They are also 
actively involved in their communities, visiting VA hospitals, helping 
veterans with claims to the Veterans Administration and volunteering at 
patriotic and memorial services throughout the year.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to echo the words of President Abraham 
Lincoln, who wrote to the mother of five fallen soldiers in the Civil 
War: ``I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your 
bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the

[[Page E1998]]

loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so 
costly a sacrifice upon the alter of freedom.''
  We owe gold star mothers and their families a debt that can never be 
fully repaid. I hope all Americans will take this opportunity to 
recognize and thank America's Gold Star Mothers.

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