[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7739-H7742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT WEEK
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 1644) expressing support for designation of a
``National Veterans History Project Week''.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1644
Whereas 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the
establishment of the Veterans History Project by the United
States Congress in order to collect and preserve the wartime
stories of United States veterans;
Whereas Congress charged the American Folklife Center at
the Library of Congress to undertake the Veterans History
Project and to engage the public in the creation of a
collection of oral histories that would be a lasting tribute
to individual veterans;
Whereas the Veterans History Project relies on a corps of
volunteer interviewers, partner organizations, and an array
of civic minded institutions nationwide who interview
veterans according to the guidelines it provides;
Whereas these oral histories have created an abundant
resource for scholars to gather first-hand accounts of
veterans' experience in World War I, World War II, the Korean
War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the
Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts;
Whereas there are 17,000,000 wartime veterans in the United
States whose stories can educate people of all ages about
important moments and events in the history of the United
States and the world and provide instructive narratives that
illuminate the meanings of ``service'', ``sacrifice'',
``citizenship'', and ``democracy'';
Whereas more than 70,000 oral histories have already been
collected and more than 8,000 oral histories are fully
digitized and available through the website of the Library of
Congress;
Whereas the Veterans History Project will increase the
number of oral histories that can be collected and preserved
and increase the number of veterans it honors; and
Whereas ``National Veterans Awareness Week'' has been
recognized by Congress in previous years: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the designation of a ``National Veterans
History Project Week'';
(2) recognizes ``National Veterans Awareness Week'';
(3) calls on the people of the United States to interview
at least one veteran in their families or communities
according to guidelines provided by the Veterans History
Project; and
(4) encourages local, State, and national organizations
along with Federal, State, city, and county governmental
institutions to participate in support of the effort to
document, preserve, and honor the service of United States
wartime veterans.
[[Page H7740]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Filner) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on House Resolution 1644.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. FILNER. I yield myself such time as I might consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill, H. Res. 1644, the National Veterans History
Project Week, comes to us from our colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind)
to honor the lives of our Nation's veterans, and I thank him for
introducing the resolution before us today.
I would like to yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin for as much
time as he may consume.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from
California for yielding me this time and for his support of H. Res.
1644.
Mr. Speaker, as the author of the Veterans History Project, I rise in
strong support of this resolution before us this evening. The Veterans
History Project, however, isn't new. It's been in existence for 10
years. We celebrated its 10-year anniversary just this year.
Simply put, it's the last task of a grateful Nation to our veterans
to ask them to help us preserve an important part of American history--
what it was like for them to serve our Nation during times of conflict
and times of peace. And since the creation of the Veterans History
Project, we have close to 80,000 veterans' stories that have been
recorded, collected, and are now being archived in probably the best
place in the entire world where it can and should be archived--out of
our own Library of Congress here in Washington, D.C.
The genesis of the Veterans History Project occurred over a Father's
Day weekend back home in my city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. I was sitting
around the picnic table with my father, who is a Korea generation
veteran, Elroy, and his brother, my uncle, Don Kind, who was with a
bomber crew in the Pacific during the Second World War, and they
started sharing with me their experience in serving our Nation. And I
told them to wait. Since my two little boys were toddlers at the time
and couldn't understand or wouldn't understand what they were saying, I
ran into the house, grabbed the family video camera, set it up on the
picnic table, and then asked them to continue talking about their
experience serving our Nation. And I got to thinking, given the advent
of modern technology today, how accessible it is for most families,
most people, we should be doing this nationwide, and that was the basis
of the Veterans History Project.
Today, it is the largest oral history collection in the United
States, and I believe it's the world's largest oral history collection.
I want to commend the leadership of the Library of Congress, under
Colonel Bob Patrick, who heads up the Veterans History Project and his
25-person staff there, but also especially our own Librarian of
Congress, Dr. Jim Billington, for his leadership on this as well.
What I've discovered throughout the years in conducting many of the
interviews myself and reading many of the transcripts of the Veterans
History Project is a common theme that runs through most of the
stories. First, most of the veterans don't feel they did anything
special. They were only doing their duty. They were answering the call
to service. And secondly, one of the great motivators in having them do
that, especially at times of conflict, was not letting their colleagues
down serving next to them. And yet these are ordinary Americans from
all walks of life, from every corner of America who went on to do
extraordinary things, and each of them had a role to play at times of
conflict, at times of peace.
Sometimes it's difficult asking our veterans to come forward and
share their stories because they don't feel like they have much to
contribute or anything significant, but each of them do in their own
way.
And I also want to thank the tremendous support and contribution of
so many organizations and entities around the country that have been
helping to get the word out that this Veterans History Project, in
fact, exists, from the VFW and American Legion halls through the
Nation, AARP has been a major sponsor of this legislation, to countless
social and community organizations in all of our towns and communities.
And that has been one of the great challenges, because the clock is
ticking and time is of the essence.
We are losing close to 1,700 veterans a day, mainly of the World War
II and Korea generation who are passing away. And if we don't go and
talk to them and record their stories, they take with them an important
part of American history--their service to our Nation. And that's why
the Library of Congress, again, has been working furiously to try to
get the word out about the existence of this project, and they have
done a commendable job in doing it.
That's why I think this resolution is necessary to have Congress
consider designating a week for the Veterans History Project which
would help us get information out to even more people. And it's as
simple as a person just approaching their own family member, friend,
neighbor, loved one in their life and asking them to share their story
and then setting up that family video camera across the kitchen table
and letting them go. It could be a 10-minute interview; it could be 2
hours, depending on how much the veteran wants to share. And that's
what makes these stories so remarkable.
I had an at-risk high school back in La Crosse, Wisconsin, who has
taken the lead for a number of years of those students that are
actually going out making contact and interviewing these veterans. Many
of these kids are at risk of dropping out. They're not the greatest
performers in school, and yet this is a project that has caused the
history to come alive in their own lives. They have to do a little bit
of research, some background on the veterans and the time period in
which they're going to conduct the interview, and then it gives them a
chance to connect with the veterans in their own community. It's been a
great bridge between the older and younger generation.
And I asked one of the students who got done interviewing a veteran,
who participated in it, what he thought of it. And he said, you know,
I've never been a great student. I don't like doing a lot of reading.
History bores me to death. But by doing this project, I felt as if I
was doing my own small contribution to preserving American history.
That's what this is about. It's about preserving these stories so
future generations never forget. And if I had a nickel every time a
family member or acquaintance or some stranger walked up to me said,
Gee, I wish I had talked to my father or mother or grandfather or
grandmother before they had passed away, I would probably be the
richest person in the whole world right now. There is a lot of regret
out there. But it doesn't have to be that way with the help and
cooperation of so many people throughout the Nation.
I've been especially pleased with the strong bipartisan support that
this and previous Congresses have shown toward the Veterans History
Project, but there's still so much work that needs to be done,
especially now with so many of our veterans returning home from
conflicts overseas, whether it's Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever our
troops are serving us throughout the globe.
So I would encourage my colleagues to support this resolution, to
support the Veterans History Project overall, help get the word out.
And for those who are looking for more information about what this is
and how they can participate, they can go to the Library of Congress
Web site, loc.gov, and read and download the information, or they can
contact any one of our congressional or Senate offices or get in touch
with a veterans service organization right in their own community who
would have this information readily available.
{time} 2030
In 10 years, there are close to 80,000 stories.
[[Page H7741]]
And one final note, I also want to thank and commend the National
Court Reporters Association. My wife, who happens to be a court
reporter, very early on in the creation of this project approached them
to see if they could volunteer their time in transcribing a lot of
these video interviews so there is a written record of it, too. Many of
them throughout the Nation have stepped up and have donated countless
volunteer hours in transcribing these videotapes, so there is a written
record.
The library now is creating books and documentaries based on these
interviews. Historians have a place to go and receive original
historical research for books and articles that they are writing. It
has really turned into a treasure trove of information, and again an
important part of American history, what it was like for our veterans
to serve our Nation during times of peace and also during times of war.
I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution. I want to thank
Chairman Filner for his support of the resolution, and the gentleman
from Tennessee, and encourage its passage.
Mr. FILNER. I thank the gentleman. Thank you for your leadership, Mr.
Kind. You have done an incredible job. I happen to be an historian
myself. I have done a lot of work in oral history, and you described it
so eloquently. I wish my father, who was in World War II, we could have
taped before he died.
Just a couple of weeks ago when I was back home, I met with a group
of black soldiers who in 1946, 2 years before the Executive order that
integrated our armed forces, the black soldiers had been approached by
General Eisenhower to say hey, the Battle of the Bulge has taken so
many of our infantrymen, who will volunteer to join the infantry, the
white infantry? About 5,000 volunteered. To hear their stories, and I
referred them. I said get right over to our project; we need to hear
that because most of us don't know about that little history, and that
is very inspiring to hear what they were able to do.
Thank you for your leadership. I think, as you said, it is not only
to maintain our own history, but to bridge the gap between generations.
So I thank the gentleman once again.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of House Resolution 1644, a bill expressing the
support of the House of Representatives for the designation of a
National Veterans History Week.
On October 27, 2000, Public Law 106-380 was signed by President
William Jefferson Clinton to establish the Veterans History Project.
The legislation before us supports the designation of a National
Veterans History Project Week, recognizes National Veterans Awareness
Week, and calls on the people of the United States to interview at
least one veteran in their families or communities according to
guidelines provided by the Veterans History Project, and encourages
local, State and national organizations along with Federal, State, city
and county governmental institutions to participate in support of the
effort to document, preserve, and honor the service of United States
wartime veterans.
The Veterans History Project is maintained by the American Folklife
Center in the Library of Congress. It collects, preserves, and makes
accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that
future generations may hear directly from veterans and better
understand the realities of war.
The collection features firsthand accounts of U.S. veterans who
served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War,
the Persian Gulf War from 1990-1995, or Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts,
2001 to present.
It also contains the accounts of U.S. citizen civilians who actively
supported war efforts such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight
instructors, medical volunteers, defense contractors, and so on.
Citizens can participate by obtaining a field kit from the Library of
Congress which contains the tools necessary to conduct interviews or
help veterans with the interview process.
Several Members of Congress have already participated in interviews
relating to their military service. I am one of them. Other Members are
Cliff Stearns, the deputy ranking member of the committee, who reported
his experience as an Air Force captain during the Vietnam War; and
Ranking Republican Steve Buyer , who recorded his experiences during
the Persian Gulf War in Iraq.
Again, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1644, and just to
thank the gentleman. We had the Traveling Vietnam Wall in my hometown
of Johnson City, Tennessee, a little over a year, a year and a half
ago. We had thousands of people come by. I was able to participate
myself as a veteran. We got hundreds of stories from during the Vietnam
War.
In a small church in Sevierville, Tennessee, a small Baptist church,
15 young men went off to World War II and three did not return. I asked
them to record this history for their church and for their community.
My history professor in college, Dr. Preston Hubbard, wrote a book
``Apocalypse Undone,'' recounting his capture in the Philippines, the
Death March, and time as a slave laborer in Japan for 4 years, an
incredible account.
I spoke recently to a 96-year-old veteran at the Mountain Home VA
Medical Center in Johnson City about his experience before there was
World War II when the U-boats wolf pack were sinking our ships taking
supplies to England. He flew missions to bomb those before there was a
war. I looked at his record and that part was inked out. That is a
history that would have been lost without this.
My own father-in-law flew combat missions in Burma supporting
Merrill's Marauders during World War II.
I was in a Hardees one morning campaigning, shaking hands. I sat down
to talk to two gentlemen, and who did I talk to but two veterans who
had survived the Battle of the Bulge, and they shared their stories
with me.
One veteran in the same county the very same day had won a Silver
Star after having a severe head injury. And I asked him how he was
doing. He said he was cutting back on his farming a little bit; he was
87 years old. That is the generation that built this Nation. To lose
those histories, and I agree with you completely, how many times have
we heard, I wish I had taken a note of it, I talked to someone who
served and gotten their story.
It is not all, most of us veterans won't share everything we did. I
want to make that clear, too, for the House tonight. There are some
things that probably just need to be left unsaid. But those stories
have meant a lot to me and my family, and I would encourage now that we
have an opportunity for all veterans who can and are able to and are
willing to, to share these stories and document them. They are very
important, because as was stated, we are losing 1,500 to 1,700 World
War II veterans per day.
I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote for this resolution.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I have had the honor, privilege of chairing the Veterans' Affairs
Committee for the last 4 years. The voters of this Nation have changed
the party in charge, and so I think this will probably be my last day
on the floor as the chairman. I just want to thank the veterans of this
Nation from around the country and around the world. I have met with
them. They have changed me as a person. I have learned incredible
amounts from them. I have learned how much we have to do to fulfill our
commitment to our Nation's veterans.
I think we have done a lot in this committee for the last 4 years.
Some of our staff is here, and I want to thank them because they have
made it all possible. In fact, Mr. Speaker, we have a fellow from the
Military Fellows Program who worked with us for a year that the Speaker
set up for us to bring in the military folks from different services
and from different occupations to both help us and to help them with a
year on Capitol Hill. One of those is completing his year just about
now, Ricco Player. We want to thank you, Ricco, for all of your work.
As a marine, he is going to be deployed to Afghanistan after Christmas,
so we wish him the best but we want to thank him for the work. He has
taught us a lot, and hope that you will bring back some of our
knowledge to your fellow marines.
[[Page H7742]]
In the last 4 years, Mr. Speaker, we have added almost $25 billion to
the health care needs of our veterans. That is over a 65 percent
increase. That is unprecedented in the history of VA to have such an
increase, and we needed to do that. We have literally hundreds of
thousands of new veterans, many with brain injury, many with PTSD,
post-traumatic stress disorder. We have veterans from Vietnam War who
are aging, and even earlier wars, obviously. So we have tremendous
need, and we put in billions of dollars into especially mental health
care of our Nation's veterans.
We wrote a GI bill for the 21st century which matched the GI bill
really from 1944, the original GI bill.
{time} 2040
I don't know about you, Mr. Speaker, but I'm here because of the GI
Bill. My dad came back from the war. He got some education, and we were
able to buy a house. We were middle class for the first time in our
lives because of the GI Bill, like 8 million other families who took
advantage of that.
So we have brought those benefits in line to what it really costs to
go to college. As you have seen today, we have worked on homeless
veterans, and we have worked on women veterans. We have tried to
improve access for rural veterans. We have done quite a bit.
I am looking forward to working with our counterparts in the new
Congress to continue the progress that we have made for veterans. We
intend to cooperate fully. Mr. Roe has been very good to work with.
I am not sure who the chairman will be from your side, but we have
established, I think, good working relationships with nearly every
member of your committee.
So, as we conclude this bill, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank again the
staff of our committee. I want to thank the staffs on both sides of the
aisle for their work and for doing so much for veterans during the last
4 years.
I would urge passage of the Kind bill, H. Res. 1644.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1644.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________