[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5326-S5327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN HEROES

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I speak today in memory of our fallen 
heroes. Next Monday, the last Monday in May, the Nation honors the men 
and women who have given their lives in battle.
  In the aftermath of the Civil War, the practice of decorating the 
graves of those who died in battle was already an established custom in 
many places, especially in the South, but it was a tribute to the 
healing of the Nation that both sides were able to put aside their past 
differences to mourn the fallen together after that terrible conflict.
  Although many communities lay claim to being the birthplace of 
Memorial Day, since World War I, when the holiday changed from honoring 
just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring those who 
were lost in battle in any war--those Americans--Memorial Day belongs 
to us all.
  Mr. President, death knows no divisions or political views. Death 
knows no distinctions between uniforms or battlegrounds. The Nation 
knew that all too well after the Civil War. Death unites the fallen--
death unites the fallen--in God's care. And death heaps grief and loss 
in equal measure on all those left to mourn.
  It is a lesson that some strident few today need to be reminded of, 
as they use military burials as a place of protest. No matter what 
views one may hold about the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
or indeed of any conflicts anywhere, there is no place for intrusions 
during these solemn rites, no cause worth offering further pain to the 
families of the fallen.
  The men and women in our military who don the uniform of the United 
States are not, as someone has so inelegantly put it, ``the deciders.'' 
They must, instead, put aside their personal views and focus on working 
seamlessly with the other members of their unit, so that the unit 
survives.
  Every death is accompanied by stories of heroism, from the one who 
sacrificed his all to keep his fellow soldiers safe, to the heroes who 
brought the fallen home. No protests can change, and none should mar, 
those acts of bravery or those honored dead.
  Memorial Day is a day to put aside our own schedules and to spend 
some time remembering those who have risked all and lost all in service 
to the Nation. It is a day to recall and revere their bravery, their 
duty, their strength, and their humanity. It is a day of tribute to 
them, and to their families, to whom the Nation owes so much.
  The poet Joyce Kilmer, himself a sergeant with the ``Fighting 69th'' 
Division, who lost his own life in 1918 during World War I, wrote a 
poem called ``Memorial Day.''

     The bugle echoes shrill and sweet,
     But not of war it sings to-day.
     The road is rhythmic with the feet
     Of men-at-arms who come to pray.

     The roses blossom white and red
     On tombs where weary soldiers lie;
     Flags wave above the honored dead
     And martial music cleaves the sky.

     Above their wreath-strewn graves we kneel,
     They kept the faith and fought the fight.
     Through flying lead and crimson steel
     They plunged for Freedom and the Right.

     May we, their grateful children, learn
     Their strength, who lie beneath this sod,
     Who went through fire and death to earn
     At last the accolade of [Almighty] God.

     In shining rank on rank arrayed
     They march, the legions of the Lord;
     He is their Captain unafraid,
     The Prince of Peace . . . Who brought a sword.

  Mr. President, all too often these days, Memorial Day is just another 
3-day weekend, an opportunity to work on the yard a little bit, an 
opportunity to go shopping, or to host a backyard barbecue. Fewer and 
fewer Americans honor the men and women in uniform and their fallen 
compatriots. Fewer, still, visit military cemeteries or actually 
decorate graves in the old-fashioned way.
  But for those who went to Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, 
May 25, I say you may have witnessed the beautiful scene known as 
``Flags-In.'' Just prior to each Memorial Day weekend, every available 
soldier from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division, the Old Guard, honors 
their fallen brethren by placing a small American flag before each of 
the more than 220,000 gravestones and 7,300 niches at the cemetery's 
columbarium. An additional 13,500 flags are set in place at the 
Soldier's and Airman's Home National Cemetery, also in Washington, DC.
  Flags are placed at the graves of each of the four individuals at the 
Tomb of the Unknowns by the tomb sentinels. Then, in order to ensure 
that each flag remains in place and standing proudly, the Old Guard 
patrols the cemetery throughout the weekend, watching over their fallen 
comrades. It is a stirring sight to see that, truly, none of these 
great sacrifices are forgotten, and to witness how seriously these 
young soldiers take their duty.
  There will be speeches on Memorial Day--formerly referred to as 
Decoration Day. And I have made many of those speeches in my long years 
on Memorial Day. And on this coming Memorial Day, there will again be 
speeches, and wreaths will be laid. A moment of silence will be 
observed. For these few moments, our Nation both mourns and celebrates. 
Privately, we mourn the loss of so many young men and women, fathers 
and mothers, sons and daughters, friends and relatives.

[[Page S5327]]

  Our hearts and our prayers go out to all the families who have lost a 
loved one in the Nation's service, and especially to those families who 
have borne their tragedies so recently and whose tears are still so 
close to the surface.
  The Senate's thoughts and prayers are also with those whose family 
members have been wounded and who fight now for their lives.
  As a nation, we celebrate and we honor the patriotism and the heroism 
that have kept us free, kept us united, and kept us strong for these 
past two and a third centuries. It is on the shoulders of these brave 
legions of the fallen and their comrades in uniform, past and present, 
that our Nation is carried to greatness.
  Technological and scientific progress is a source of pride and 
strength, economic prosperity a boon, and our Constitution--thank God--
a blessing. But none of these gifts is sustainable without the will and 
the resolve to defend them, to the death if necessary.
  Those we honor on Memorial Day have gone that extra mile. They have 
worn the uniform with pride, and they have won and kept our freedom 
with their effort and their sacrifice. They have fought together around 
the globe, in the dark, in the mud, in the dust, on holidays, 
anniversaries, and weekends. Some have missed the births of their 
children. Some have missed growing old with their loved ones. They will 
enjoy no more 3-day weekends, no family vacations, no backyard 
barbecues. But in our moment of silence, as the flags snap in front of 
the rows upon rows of marble markers, let us think on all that they 
have given for us, and be humbled.
  Edgar Guest, a prolific poet of the first half of the last century, 
wrote many favorite poems of mine. His work was published in the 
newspapers, for he worked for the Detroit Free Press. His poem, 
Memorial Day, suggests a fitting tribute to all those we honor on 
Memorial Day.
  Let me read a few lines.

     The finest tribute we can pay
     unto our hero dead today,
     is not a rose wreath, white and red,
     in memory of the blood they shed;
     it is to stand beside each mound,
     each couch of consecrated ground,
     and pledge ourselves as warriors true
     unto the work they died to do.

     Into god's valleys where they lie
     at rest, beneath the open sky,
     triumphant now o'er every foe,
     as living tributes let us go.

     No wreath of rose or immortelles
     or spoken word or tolling bells
     will do to-day, unless we give
     our pledge that liberty shall live.

     Our hearts must be the roses red
     we place above our hero dead;
     today beside their graves we must
     renew allegiance to their trust;
     must bare our heads and humbly say
     we hold the flag as dear as they,
     and stand, as once they stood, to die
     to keep the stars and stripes on high.

     The finest tribute we can pay
     unto our hero dead today
     is not of speech or roses red,
     but living, throbbing hearts instead,
     that shall renew the pledge they sealed
     with death upon the battlefield:
     that freedom's flag shall bear no stain
     and free men wear no tyrant's chain.
  Mr. President, I have another statement which I must give. I see the 
distinguished Senator from Kentucky, Mr. McConnell, on the floor. I 
will yield to him if he wishes.
  I thank the distinguished Senator for his characteristic courtesy.

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