[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3280-S3281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MEMORIAL DAY

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, as chairman of the Senate Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, I proudly wish to recognize the 1 percent of 
Americans who

[[Page S3281]]

serve today in the Armed Forces of the United States. This past 
weekend, on Armed Forces Day, I had the honor of participating in the 
grand opening of the Military Family Support Center presented by the 
Cobb Chamber of Commerce. It remains humbling to me every time I see 
Georgia communities come together to support our servicemen and 
servicewomen and their families.
  Anyone who opens a newspaper today or turns on the TV knows that we 
live in a world of unknown and dangerous threats. Despite this, nearly 
2.1 million Americans have voluntarily raised their right hands and 
sworn to defend our Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. 
What makes these men and women unique is that, despite these global 
threats, they choose to rise to the challenge. They come from all walks 
of life. From coast to coast, every Main Street, farm, or even next 
door, our selfless warriors voluntarily walk away from the comforts of 
home to join the most elite force on this planet. They endure long 
hours in the field, countless months away from their families while 
downrange, and some even come face to face with those who wish to do us 
harm. These courageous Americans are deployed in more than 150 
countries around the world. From humanitarian missions to coalition 
force partnerships to counterterrorism operations, there is no mission, 
no challenge they cannot rise to meet.
  Our world is becoming increasingly unstable. With threats rising from 
old foes to new ones in familiar places, there is simply no shortage of 
challenges our country faces in terms of national security. While the 
unknown threatens global peace, one constant known is the courage and 
dedication of America's Armed Forces. I am constantly reminded that we 
are the land of the free because of the brave.
  Now, this coming Monday gives us all a moment to stop and pay respect 
to the approximately 1.3 million Americans who have given their lives 
in the defense of our great Nation. From the Revolutionary War to the 
Civil War, from World War I to World War II, from Korea to Vietnam, and 
from Iraq to Afghanistan, brave men and women have answered the call to 
defend our homeland and protect the helpless around the world in the 
name of peace. Those of us who are fortunate to work in this grand 
Capitol Building need not look any farther than across the river, on 
the other side of the National Mall, where the ``gardens of stone'' at 
Arlington National Cemetery offer a sobering reminder of the price of 
freedom.
  While Americans enjoy the long weekend with family and barbecues, I 
would encourage everyone to take a moment to remember the true meaning 
of the holiday: to honor the servicemembers who have paid the ultimate 
price.
  I also want to take a moment to honor and thank those families who 
President Lincoln once said ``have laid such a costly sacrifice upon 
the altar of freedom.'' The strength of these families to persevere is 
like no other, and their support to our goals of peace and freedom is 
simply humbling.
  Memorial Day--and every day--I am again honored and reminded that we 
are the land of the free because of the brave.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, Americans live free, secure, and stable 
lives thanks to generations of men and women in uniform who were 
willing to sacrifice their own lives. We must never forget the 
tremendous debt we owe those brave Americans. It is in large part 
because of them that America serves as a beacon of hope, freedom, and 
equality to all the world.
  This Monday, we will celebrate Memorial Day, a national day of solemn 
remembrance and gratitude as we honor the men and women who have died 
defending our Nation. We honor each and every American who has made the 
ultimate sacrifice on battlefields from Lexington, Concord, and Bunker 
Hill to Fort McHenry; from Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg to Belleau 
Wood and the Somme; from Pearl Harbor, Bastogne, and Iwo Jima to 
Inchon, Bloody Ridge, and the Chosin Reservoir; from Ia Drang, Khe 
Sanh, and Hamburger Hill to Umm Qasr, Nasiriyah, Fallujah, and Kabul. 
We salute the centuries-old legacy of selflessness and sacrifice that 
defines our Nation. We are forever indebted to our warfighters and 
their families. On Memorial Day, we pause to reflect, to remember, to 
pay respect, to give thanks. And we say a prayer for all the men and 
women currently serving in harm's way and look forward to the day when 
they may return home safely to be with their families and friends.
  Memorial Day is not only a day for looking backward. It is also a day 
for looking forward. Those men and women who lie buried gave their 
lives so that we could live in peace. Their dream and the dream of 
every American serving in the field of battle is that someday no more 
Americans will be called upon to give their lives for their country, 
that someday war will end and the world will be truly free. What better 
way, then, to honor their memory than to do everything we can to seek 
peace?
  On this day of remembrance, I hope that all Americans remember the 
dream of those who committed the greatest sacrifice and pursue peace in 
all our endeavors. As President Lincoln put it so eloquently nearly 153 
years ago, let us dedicate ourselves ``to the great task remaining 
before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to 
that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that 
we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and 
that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not 
perish from the earth.''

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