[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 74 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3460-S3461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       APPROPRIATE SITING ON CHAPLAINS HILL IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of 
S. Con. Res. 4 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the concurrent resolution by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Con. Res. 4) expressing the sense of 
     Congress that an appropriate site on Chaplains Hill in 
     Arlington National Cemetery should be provided for a memorial 
     marker to honor the memory of the Jewish chaplains who died 
     while on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United 
     States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to speak on 
the passage of S. Con. Res. 4, as amended, which would allow for the 
establishment of a Jewish Chaplains Memorial on Chaplains Hill in 
Arlington National Cemetery.
  Since their inclusion in the Chaplain Corps in 1862, Jewish Chaplains 
have played a vital role in supporting members of the Armed Forces. In 
Arlington National Cemetery, Chaplains Hill serves as a memorial for 
military chaplains who have died in service to their country.
  Chaplains play a critical role in the lives of our Nation's soldiers, 
providing spiritual guidance and emotional support in their times of 
need. In addition to their spiritual role, chaplains still remain a 
part of the military and give their lives in the line of duty.
  Mr. President, in particular, one story poignantly tells of the 
service and sacrifice that chaplains make on behalf of their fellow 
servicemembers. On January 23, 1943, the USAT Dorchester was attacked 
by an enemy submarine while off the coast of Newfoundland. Four Army 
chaplains remained on the sinking vessel ensuring that surviving crew 
members would be able to reach the lifeboats, even surrendering their 
own lifejackets to crewmembers in need. As the ship began to sink, the 
chaplains banded together to pray for the safety of the crew. In honor 
of that selfless act, Congress created the Chaplain's Medal of Honor, 
also known as the Four Chaplains Medal. One of the chaplains was Rabbi 
Alexander D. Goode, a lieutenant in the Army, who is one of the 13 
Jewish Chaplains who would be honored by the memorial that this 
Resolution would establish.
  I would like to thank the many groups and individuals involved in 
this project. Specifically, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of 
Rabbi Harold Robinson, RADM CHC USN Retired, Kenneth Kraetzer, Mr. Sol 
Moglen and Ms. Shelley Rood. Without the work of these dedicated 
individuals, the sacrifice Jewish Chaplains have made on behalf of this 
Nation would remain unmemorialized in Arlington National Cemetery.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. I ask unanimous consent that the Murray amendment,

[[Page S3461]]

which is at the desk, be agreed to, the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 388) was agreed to as follows:

 (Purpose: To express the sense of Congress on the establishment of an 
  advisory commission on memorials at Arlington National Cemetery and 
facilitate evaluation and approval of future monuments and memorials at 
                             the cemetery)

       In the resolving clause, insert before the period at the 
     end the following: ``and that, in order to preserve, protect, 
     and maintain the limited amount of space available at 
     Arlington National Cemetery and ensure that future proposals 
     for commemorative works are appropriately designed, 
     constructed, and located and reflect a consensus of the 
     lasting national significance of the subjects involved, the 
     President of the United States, as Commander in Chief, should 
     establish an Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Advisory 
     Commission and procedures for the evaluation and approval of 
     new monuments and memorials comparable to those in chapter 89 
     of title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
     `Commemorative Works Act')''.

  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 4), as amended, was agreed 
to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, as amended with its preamble, reads as 
follows:

                             S. Con. Res. 4

       Whereas 13 Jewish chaplains have died while on active duty 
     in the Armed Forces of the United States;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Alexander Goode died on 
     February 3, 1943, when the USS Dorchester was sunk by German 
     torpedoes off the coast of Greenland;
       Whereas Chaplain Goode received the Four Chaplains' Medal 
     for Heroism and the Distinguished Service Cross for his 
     heroic efforts to save the lives of those onboard the 
     Dorchester;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Irving Tepper was killed in 
     action in France on August 13, 1944;
       Whereas Chaplain Tepper also saw combat in Morocco, 
     Tunisia, and Sicily while attached to an infantry combat team 
     in the Ninth Division;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Louis Werfel died on December 
     24, 1944, at the young age of 27, in a plane crash while en 
     route to conduct Chanukah services;
       Whereas Chaplain Werfel was known as ``The Flying Rabbi'' 
     because his duties required traveling great distances by 
     plane to serve Army personnel of Jewish faith at outlying 
     posts;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Meir Engel died at the Naval 
     Hospital in Saigon on December 16, 1964, after faithfully 
     serving his country during World War II, the Korean War, and 
     the Vietnam War;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Morton Singer died on December 
     17, 1968, in a plane crash while on a mission in Vietnam to 
     conduct Chanukah services;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Herman Rosen died in service of 
     his faith and his country on June 18, 1943;
       Whereas Chaplain Rabbi Herman Rosen's son, Air Force 
     Chaplain Solomon Rosen, also died in service of his faith and 
     his country, on November 2, 1948;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Nachman Arnoff died in service 
     of his faith and his country on May 9, 1946;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Frank Goldenberg died in 
     service of his faith and his country on May 22, 1946;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Henry Goody died in service of 
     his faith and his country on October 19, 1943;
       Whereas Army Chaplain Rabbi Samuel Hurwitz died in service 
     of his faith and his country December 9, 1943;
       Whereas Air Force Chaplain Rabbi Samuel Rosen died in 
     service of his faith and his country on May 13, 1955;
       Whereas Air Force Chaplain Rabbi David Sobel died in 
     service of his faith and his country on March 7, 1974;
       Whereas Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery 
     memorializes the names of 242 chaplains who perished while on 
     active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States; and
       Whereas none of the 13 Jewish chaplains who have died while 
     on active duty are memorialized on Chaplains Hill: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that an 
     appropriate site on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National 
     Cemetery should be provided for a memorial marker, to be paid 
     for with private funds, to honor the memory of the Jewish 
     chaplains who died while on active duty in the Armed Forces 
     of the United States, so long as the Secretary of the Army 
     has exclusive authority to approve the design and site of the 
     memorial marker and that, in order to preserve, protect, and 
     maintain the limited amount of space available at Arlington 
     National Cemetery and ensure that future proposals for 
     commemorative works are appropriately designed, constructed, 
     and located and reflect a consensus of the lasting national 
     significance of the subjects involved, the President of the 
     United States, as Commander in Chief, should establish an 
     Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Advisory Commission and 
     procedures for the evaluation and approval of new monuments 
     and memorials comparable to those in chapter 89 of title 40, 
     United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
     ``Commemorative Works Act'').

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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