[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 159 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING AMERICAN VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LYNN A. WESTMORELAND

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 29, 2009

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, as Veterans Day approaches, I rise 
today to pay tribute to the millions of brave troops who have worn our 
nation's uniform and particularly to the 700,000 who now live in 
Georgia.
  Today's American veterans are part of a proud legacy that dates back 
to the founding of our nation, independence won with the blood and 
sacrifice of underfed, undertrained, underequipped colonists hungry for 
the taste of freedom. That bank of Patriots gave birth to the greatest 
nation in history.
  Our 19th century veterans pushed our nation's boundaries across the 
continent, from sea to shining sea, and they patched our nation back 
together after it was ripped apart by a civil war that left more than 
500,000 dead.
  At the dawn of the 20th century, our veterans again led the way as 
the United States met its destiny as the greatest of world powers. We 
did not deploy our mighty forces to pillage the world's riches. Instead 
we put American lives and treasure on the line in the service of 
mankind, fighting the scourges of military dictatorships, fascism, 
communism and terrorism. Never before has the world's greatest power 
acted so selflessly and so compassionately on behalf of those in need 
from all points on the globe.
  Our soldiers fought, bled and died from Pearl Harbor to Paris, from 
the Balkans to Baghdad, from Seoul to Saigon. They fought in defense of 
freedom; they fought on behalf of human dignity; they fought against 
genocide; they fought to right wrongs. Most important, they fought to 
protect the American people and their way of life.
  On Veterans Day, we salute those who fought for this nation, from our 
senior veterans who delivered victory in WWII to our brave men and 
women coming home today from Iraq and Afghanistan. When the call of 
duty sounded, they answered. They put liberty over life, and they put 
their countrymen above themselves.
  We know our veterans bear the scars of war, the pains of wounds 
physical, mental and emotional. We know they faced down horror, loss 
and sacrifice beyond compare.
  And we know they did it for us. The American people cannot repay the 
debt we owe to those who served. We honor them on this Veterans Day 
2009, and may we reflect on their greatness every time we raise the 
Stars and Stripes, every time we sing the National Anthem, every time 
we place our hands on our hearts to say the Pledge of Allegiance, and 
every time we thank God for the birthright of liberty we inherited as 
Americans.

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