[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 79 (Monday, June 19, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S6055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              REPORT ON TRIP TO THE NETHERLANDS AND FRANCE

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, in the 2 minutes I have left, I would 
like to comment very briefly on a trip made by the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee to oversee World War I and World War II cemeteries in the 
Netherlands and France. The chairman of the committee, the 
distinguished Senator from Idaho, Mr. Craig, organized the trip, with 
Senator Burr, Senator Isakson, and myself.
  Let me say to you that it was inspirational to visit the cemeteries--
I had never done that before--to see so many marble crosses and marble 
stars of David. It was especially poignant for me because my father 
fought in World War I. He left Russia at the age of 18 in 1911 to 
escape the tyranny. The Czar wanted to send him to Siberia. He wanted 
to go to Kansas. It was a close call. I say that jokingly. He was proud 
to serve in the U.S. Army as a Doughboy. It took all of 30 days for him 
to be inducted, until he was shipped overseas, really, with a big 
bull's eye on his back as cannon fodder by all means.
  When I was growing up, he would regale my brother, my two sisters, 
and me with World War I songs, such as ``It's A Long Way To 
Tipperary.'' I recall his singing the song about the bugler in the 
famous World War I song, ``Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning.'' 
It said that if given a chance, he would have shot the bugler. And my 
father liked to sing that song. He got up early a lot of mornings.
  Fighting in the Argonne Forest, he was wounded in action by shrapnel 
fire. He carried shrapnel in his legs until the day he died. Had the 
shrapnel hit him a little higher, Harry Specter might have been in one 
of those cemeteries and he wouldn't have been my father.
  It was quite an inspirational trip.
  I ask unanimous consent that my written statement be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       I have sought recognition to comment on a trip by the 
     Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee to the Netherlands and 
     France from May 26th through June 1st to conduct 
     congressional oversight on World War I and World War II 
     cemeteries in those countries. The trip was organized by the 
     Committee Chairman, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and with 
     Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and 
     myself in attendance. The itinerary included the following 
     cemeteries: Aines-Marne American Cemetery, France; Ardennes 
     American Cemetery, Belgium; Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, 
     Belgium; Netherlands American Cemetery, The Netherlands; 
     Normandy American Cemetery, France, and Suresnes American 
     Cemetery, France.
       It was a sobering and thought provoking trip to see so many 
     marble Crosses and marble Stars of David in symmetrical rows. 
     We know the history of those two wars with so many casualties 
     but until you actually see the tombstones it is an 
     abstraction.
       We found all of the cemeteries to be meticulously 
     maintained. The grass was manicured, the foliage was 
     magnificent and the unique shrines at each cemetery were very 
     impressive. From the point of view of congressional 
     oversight, the Senate delegation was unanimous in concluding 
     that the American Battle Monuments Commission has done a 
     superb job in maintaining the cemeteries.
       On May 28th we attended a particularly impressive cemetery 
     at the Netherlands American Cemetery with dozens of wreaths 
     being laid in honor of the fallen veterans. At the Suresnes 
     American Cemetery in Paris, the memorial recounted the 
     statistics of the 126,000 U.S. soldiers who were killed in 
     World War I and the 407,300 U.S. soldiers killed in World War 
     II.
       On a personal level, I was especially touched by the graves 
     of World War I veterans because my father, Harry Specter, 
     fought in that War. He came to the United States at the age 
     of 18 in 1911 to escape the Czar's tyranny. The Czar wanted 
     to send him to Siberia. He wanted to go to Kansas. I jokingly 
     say it was a close call.
       My father was inducted on May 6, 1918 at Fairbury, Nebraska 
     and shipped out of the United States for France thirty days 
     later. His discharge papers bear the notation: ``Character: 
     Excellent''.
       The reality was that he, like so many others, was sent to 
     France as cannon fodder--with really a big bull's-eye painted 
     on his back. He patriotically brushed off that off and was 
     proud to serve in the Army of his adopted country. He talked 
     jokingly that frequently all they had to eat was ``jam 
     sandwiches'' which meant two pieces of bread jammed together. 
     He talked about climbing a tree in France to pick fruit for 
     himself and his buddies. That is what his family had done in 
     the village of Batchkurina in the heart of the Ukraine about 
     160 miles southwest of Kiev. He commented that he was never 
     required to fire his rifle at the German enemy.
       When I was growing up, he would regale my brother, two 
     sisters and me with World War I songs such as ``It's a Long 
     Way to Tipperary.'' I recall his singing about the bugler on 
     the famous World War I song ``Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the 
     Morning.'' Fighting in the Argonne Forest, he was wounded in 
     action by shrapnel fire. He carried shrapnel in his legs 
     until the day he died. Had the shrapnel hit him a little 
     higher, Harry Specter might have lain in one of the 
     cemeteries and he wouldn't have been my father.
       The U.S. Ambassador to France, Craig R. Stapleton, invited 
     the delegation to dinner on May 31st, attended by French 
     officials and embassy personnel. During the course of the 
     evening, Ambassador Stapleton spoke about a relative, Flem 
     Stapleton, the son of his grandfather's first cousin Benjamin 
     Franklin Stapleton. He recounted finding his relative's name 
     on the roster of World War I veterans killed in action which 
     prompted him to do some research. He found that Flem 
     Stapleton was killed in action in his first battle at the age 
     of twenty. When Ambassador Stapleton recounted the story, 
     tears came to his eyes and he was unable to continue for a 
     few moments.
       When I was asked to speak a few moments later, I said 
     Ambassador Stapleton had really captured and articulated the 
     emotion which I felt on seeing the Crosses and Stars of 
     David.
       The visits to the cemeteries gave me new meaning for 
     patriotism and the great contributions which our servicemen 
     and women have made to the security of our nation and the 
     freedom we all enjoy.

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