[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E806-E807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMEMORATION OF THE TREE OF PEACE

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2019

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the planting 
of the Tree of Peace on the grounds of the National World War I Museum 
and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. This ceremony is dignified by 
the presence of Mr. Ross P. Marine, the Honorary Consul of the Slovak 
Republic to the Midwest United States and board member of the Czech and 
Slovak Club of Greater Kansas City. During his eighteen-year tenure as 
Honorary Consul, Mr. Marine has worked to strengthen the economic, 
social, and cultural ties between Slovakia and Mid-America, and this 
spirit of international cooperation is reflected by the Tree of Peace 
project. Since the dedication of the National WWI Museum and Memorial 
on Armistice Day in 1926, Kansas City, Missouri has been home to the 
country's foremost institution committed to preserving the history of 
the First World War. In the shadows of the Liberty Memorial--the most 
fitting location our country offers for this project--the Tree of Peace 
will convey a message of goodwill and contribute to the reflective 
nature of this consecrated site.
  Between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918, the First World War 
claimed the lives of nine million combatants and nearly eight million 
civilians. Another twenty-one million military personnel were wounded 
during the course of the war. In the United States alone, over 116,000 
servicemen were killed, 204,000 were wounded, and 3,350 went missing. 
Among the American casualties, 441 were from Kansas City. To this day, 
World War I remains among the most costly and destructive wars in 
history.

[[Page E807]]

  When the National WWI Museum and Memorial opened to the public in 
1926, President Calvin Coolidge explained that the memorial had ``not 
been raised to commemorate war and victory, but rather the results of 
war and victory, which are embodied in peace and liberty.'' The Tree of 
Peace project, initiated by Slovak landscape architect Dr. Marek 
Sabala, serves a similar purpose.
  The Tree of Peace project is an international initiative that began 
in the Slovak Republic last year to mark the 100th anniversary of the 
First World War's conclusion. Within four years, Dr. Sabala hopes to 
plant a Tree of Peace on every continent, a mission designed to 
champion a message of peace and the need to avoid armed conflicts. Each 
Tree of Peace also stands as a living tribute to all those who fought 
and perished in World War I, including those who lost their lives on 
unknown battlefields and who remain known only God. So far, eight Trees 
of Peace have been planted in four participating countries: Austria, 
Slovakia, Russia, and Poland. With the planting of a Tree of Peace at 
the National WWI Museum and Memorial on June 21st, the United States 
will join this international community in hopes of achieving a world 
free from global conflict. At a National Historic Landmark that has 
attracted over two million visitors since 2006, the Tree of Peace will 
establish its roots at one of the most treasured sites in Missouri's 
Fifth Congressional District and the nation.
  The motto of the Tree of Peace project, to ``make love the lifeblood 
of this world,'' articulates an ideal that is antithetical to the 
depravity of warfare. Visitors to the National WWI Museum and Memorial 
walk across a glass bridge above a field of 9,000 red poppies--each of 
which represents 1,000 combat deaths suffered during the War. 
Conversely, the Tree of Peace symbolizes belief in a future where war 
no longer inflicts senseless death on so many. World War I was 
described by many contemporaries as ``the war to end all wars.'' While 
the international community has repeatedly proven this description 
false--with graves all across the world bearing testament to the 
devastating consequences of armed conflict--the Tree of Peace expresses 
faith that we may, once and for all, see war come to an end.
  The Liberty Memorial Tower is flanked by two Assyrian Sphinx 
sculptures, known as Memory and Future. While Memory shields its eyes 
from the horrors of war, and Future shields its eyes from the 
uncertainty of times to come, the Tree of Peace affirms hope in a 
future that need not cause one to cover one's eyes in fear.
  The Tree of Peace project encourages each of us to recommit ourselves 
to the noble pursuit of perpetual peace--in which bullets, bombs, and 
bayonets are all set aside; hostility is replaced with civility; and 
antagonism gives way to amity. The Tree of Peace calls on nations to 
silence the beating of their war drums, cast away their rattling 
sabers, and pay no heed to war hawks. Only then will the ``just and 
lasting peace'' that is described on the north wall of the memorial 
become a reality.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in celebrating the planting of the Tree 
of Peace at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, 
Missouri. Let us recognize this occasion by reflecting on the values of 
friendship, harmony, and goodwill.

                          ____________________