[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 137 (Monday, September 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FREEDOM TRAIN

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                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 17, 2007

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, it was 60 years ago on this date--
September 16, 1947--that the Freedom Train appeared to start a special 
journey across the United States. Contained in the railcars of the 
``Spirit of 1776'' were some of the documents that form America's 
foundation.
  During a 16-month route that carried the Freedom Train to our 
contiguous 48 states at that time, millions of Americans saw the 
rolling museum visit communities large and small. It was a time when 
our Nation was reminding itself of the struggles that led to its 
formation as well as the struggles that had come in the decades just 
before in the form of the Great Depression and then World War II. It 
was also a time during which railroads were able to showcase their 
still widely popular form of transit by leading a mission grounded in 
American pride.
  The Freedom Train put more than 37,000 miles behind it during its 
nationwide tour. So many Americans were able to lay their eyes on 
original documents like the Magna Carta and the Declaration of 
Independence and understand just how valuable those pieces of paper 
were to our country's place in history.
  I extend special thanks today to my constituents, John and Mary Jayne 
Rowe of Covington, Virginia, for their tireless work to catalog the 
history of the Freedom Train for generations to come. I also ask that 
we pay honor to the few Marine guards who will meet a reunion in a few 
weeks to further remember their role in protecting the Freedom Train on 
its special trip across our great country.

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