[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 24 (Wednesday, March 1, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E245-E246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ON THE OCCASION OF THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES PEACE 
                                 CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 1, 2006

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, it was exactly 45 years ago today, on March 1, 
1961, that President John F. Kennedy signed the Executive Order 
establishing the Peace Corps under its first Director, Sargent Shriver. 
Five months later, in that distant summer of 1961, the inaugural group 
of volunteers prepared to leave for the African country of Ghana. These 
first Peace Corps volunteers ``boarded a chartered Pan American 
propeller driven plane for the 17-hour flight to Accra.'' This was the 
beginning of not only a life-shaping experience for these 56 pioneers 
but also the commencement of the entire Peace Corps saga which we are 
honoring today. These fellow citizens had responded to the clarion call 
contained in President Kennedy's inaugural address, which had 
challenged all Americans to ``ask not what your country can do for you, 
ask what you can do for your country.''
  Since that first summer, over 170,000 volunteers have answered the 
late President's call, serving in over 137 countries. These are our 
diplomats of the highways and byways. They bring the smiling face of 
American optimism, the famous American can-do spirit, and the American 
dedication to democratic values to the far corners of the globe. Their 
``offices'' are found in dirt-floor village classrooms, at rural health 
clinics, on Third World farms, in development projects in some of the 
world's worst urban slums, and at orphanages for the abandoned 
children of the world. Their rewards are found in the shy smiles of 
students, the grateful laughter of children, and the hearty handshakes 
of senior citizens who have finally found their longed-for American 
friend. The price these volunteers are willing to pay for their unique 
experience of service often includes sweat and toil, loneliness and 
frustration, but also the hearty laughter of welcomes and the sad tears 
of fond farewells. They are the unsung heroes of America's continued 
engagement with the peoples of the developing world. At a time when 
anti-Americanism has become the fashion in certain quarters overseas, 
Peace Corps volunteers have served

[[Page E246]]

their country in a manner which promotes international understanding 
and which makes all Americans proud.

  And so I join the Peace Corps Director, Gaddi H. Vasquez, and his 
dedicated staff at both Peace Corps Headquarters and in the field, in 
honoring those over eight thousand volunteers, currently serving in 71 
countries around the world, as well as those who served in the past. 
The present volunteers, at a time of increased security concerns in 
many overseas locales, deserve special recognition for their decision 
to leave family and friends, home and hearth, and their comfortable, 
secure lives behind in pursuit of the Peace Corps mission of ``world 
peace and friendship.''
  Former volunteers often use the linguistic and cultural skills they 
acquired in Peace Corps service later in their professional lives. They 
sometimes find themselves continuing to work with distinction in the 
fields of government and international affairs. Their ranks include 
current Members of the House and Senate as well as Congressional staff. 
In this regard, these ``RPCVs,'' as returned volunteers are called, 
continue to make a contribution, providing windows of understanding 
regarding diverse cultures of which most Americans have only a scant 
knowledge. Every year around this March 1st anniversary date, returned 
volunteers visit classrooms and community centers around the United 
States to carry their message of international friendship and 
understanding. At a time of heightened sensitivity to the need for 
greater cultural understanding of peoples from different traditions, 
the insights of former Peace Corps volunteers constitute a too little 
recognized national treasure.

  There is one endeavor related to the Peace Corps put forward during 
my tenure as Chairman of the International Relations Committee of which 
I am particularly proud. This is the legislative effort undertaken by 
myself and my good friend from across the aisle, Tom Lantos, to see 
that there was sufficient funding to achieve President Bush's goal of 
increasing the size of Peace Corps. This undertaking was one concrete 
means for addressing the new challenges to international mutual 
understanding found in our post-September 11th world. Let us all hope 
that the Peace Corps continues to grow as one response to these 
challenges. Money spent on the Peace Corps is money well spent.
  And so, today, I send greetings to those serving around the world who 
have. asked for little in return while asking what they, themselves, 
could do for their country. Whether this message finds you on some 
Caribbean isle, high in the Andes mountains, along a river in western 
Africa, in a sub-Saharan village, in a classroom in eastern Europe, on 
the steppes of Mongolia, in a river town in China, in a crowded urban 
center in Bangladesh, or far away in the South Pacific, I send you 
salutations on your anniversary date. Thank you for your service as 
America's Goodwill Ambassadors along the world's highways and byways. 
May you achieve every professional and personal success and may the 
Peace Corps flourish for the next 45 years.

                          ____________________