[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 131 (Thursday, September 6, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          HONORING MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE ON HIS 250TH BIRTHDAY

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                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2007

  Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, on September 6, 1757, 250 years ago 
today, a Frenchman named Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Du Motier 
was born. This young man, who would later be known as Marquis de 
Lafayette, had a profound influence on the formation of our country and 
on Western democratic fundamentals of freedom and human rights.
  As a lifelong resident of Lafayette County, Missouri, I was pleased 
to draft legislation earlier this year to mark the 250th anniversary of 
Marquis de Lafayette's birth. The House of Representatives approved my 
bill on May 22, 2007, honoring, as Americans have done time and again, 
Lafayette's role in our nation's history.
  On July 7, 2007, the French Embassy's Military Attache, Major General 
Jean-Luc Delon, traveled to my hometown of Lexington, Lafayette County, 
Missouri, and participated in a public ceremony honoring Marquis de 
Lafayette. It was a distinct honor and privilege to have a 
representative of the French government in Missouri to discuss 
Lafayette's life and the important bilateral friendship he helped 
establish between the United States and France.
  More than any one person, Marquis de Lafayette symbolizes the 
assistance American colonists received from Europe in the struggle for 
independence from Great Britain. As we celebrate his 250th birthday, I 
am hopeful that all Americans will take a moment to remember his legacy 
on the United States.

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