[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 94 (Friday, June 2, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TOWN OF MILAN, MAY 28, 2017

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                           HON. JOHN J. FASO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 2, 2017

  Mr. FASO. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a speech I delivered 
in Milan on May 28, 2017.

       Memorial Day. A day of remembrance to our fallen soldiers. 
     A day when all Americans are reminded of those who gave their 
     lives to defend our freedoms. This day is perhaps best 
     honored by the phrase uttered by Abraham Lincoln at 
     Gettysburg. They gave to the cause of liberty, he said, 
     ``their last full measure of devotion.''
       Memorial Day is significant in that it is an enduring 
     reminder of those who gave their lives for our nation. We 
     live in a time when only a small percentage of American 
     families have someone who is serving on either active duty or 
     in the reserves. As such, it is all the more important that 
     we gather together on this solemn day to honor their 
     sacrifice.
       So on this day, our obligation is not just to remember. It 
     is also to teach our children and grandchildren that our 
     liberty is more than just the words of the Declaration of 
     Independence, and the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. 
     Those documents are the foundation stones of our system of 
     government and the truth that governments derive their powers 
     from the people and not the other way around. And further 
     that the inalienable rights we enjoy as a free people come 
     from God and not from government.
       But none of this would be possible without the sacrifice of 
     those we remember today. Inscribed on statuary at the 
     National Archives Building in Washington is the phrase 
     ``Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.'' We need to 
     constantly remind ourselves that freedom is not free. Our 
     liberties are guaranteed us by our Constitution and Bill of 
     Rights; but they were also made possible by the determination 
     of multiple generations of Americans who answered their 
     nation's call and who defended our liberties to the last 
     breath on the fields of battle.
       We stand on the shoulders of the fallen today. We owe them 
     our eternal gratitude; our respect; and that their collective 
     sacrifice is forever etched onto our collective memories.
       I recently read a quote attributed to the son of a U.S. 
     soldier killed in Afghanistan. He said of his father: ``his 
     life was not taken: it was given to his country.''
       His life was not taken: it was given to his country. He 
     gave his life to defend our nation, so that others of us can 
     live in freedom and liberty. That truly sums up what we 
     should always remember about those we honor on Memorial Day. 
     May God Bless our fallen soldiers; may God Bless our 
     Veterans; and may God Bless the United States of America.

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