[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MONTANA KOREAN WAR VETERANS

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today in honor of the Montanans who 
served our Nation during the Korean war.
  Their service and sacrifice will forever be remembered in the 
official Congressional Record. Many of them rest in peace in the sacred 
ground of the Yellowstone National Cemetery.
  During the Korean war, 6.8 million Americans served between 1950 and 
1953. About 20,000 Montanans served in the military during that time, 
and 5,000 of them saw combat. We lost 350 Montanans in Korea.
  Today about 6,000 Korean war veterans call Montana home. Survivors of 
the ``Forgotten War,'' far too many of them have struggled for far too 
long to receive the recognition and benefits they truly deserve.
  As ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, it has 
been my honor to fight for legislation that rights this wrong. I have 
introduced legislation that extends benefits related to toxic exposure 
to more veterans who served along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. 
Because when servicemembers deploy to harm's way and are exposed to 
toxic chemicals, our country has a responsibility to meet their 
healthcare needs.
  Honoring these veterans takes more than just legislation; it takes 
dedicated people who are committed to telling their stories and 
honoring those who have served.
  The Montana American Legion, led by Commander Richard Klose, is an 
important partner working to ensure veterans who fought in every 
conflict can get the healthcare, honor, and recognition they have 
earned.
  Since 2014, Montana veterans and their loved ones can choose to be 
buried under the Big Sky in the Yellowstone National Cemetery--veterans 
like COL John R. Black of the U.S. Army, the most highly decorated 
veteran interred at the Yellowstone National Cemetery, earned two 
Silver Star medals and two Legion of Merit medals in his service to our 
Nation in the Korean and Vietnam wars; veterans like Captain Ralph D. 
Myer, a U.S. Public Health Service Officer of the Korean and Vietnam 
wars, is one of the highest ranking veterans interred at the 
Yellowstone National Cemetery.
  Montana will remember Colonel Black, Captain Myer, and all of our 
citizens who fought during the Korean war.
  We will honor their memory by relentlessly fighting to get the 
veterans of the Korean war the equal benefits and care that they earned 
but are too often denied.
  Some paid the ultimate sacrifice. Some returned home bearing the seen 
and unseen wounds of war. All showed courage and strength when they 
heeded the call to protect our Nation far from home. We cannot forget 
their service and sacrifice.
  To Commander Klose, the Montana American Legion, my friends at the 
Yellowstone National Cemetery, and all those who dedicate their lives 
to this country in service, on behalf of myself, Montana, and our 
Nation, I extend my greatest thanks for your enduring bravery, service, 
and self-sacrifice.

                          ____________________