[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 96 (Thursday, May 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2576-S2577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Observing Memorial Day

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, on Monday, our country will celebrate 
Memorial Day. It is a very special day--one that we, as Americans, set 
aside each year to honor those members of the military who have given 
their lives in sacrifice to their country.
  Right now, this is typically the time when I am getting ready to 
travel home and go to Southern Oregon--to Eagle Point and to Central 
Point, wonderful communities to spend Memorial Day with hundreds of 
veterans and members of their families. These are events that take 
place each year and are inspiring and affirming and basically a time 
when Oregonians, from very young to often approaching almost 100 years 
old, assemble and are part of a centuries-long lineage of patriots who 
have been willing to serve and sacrifice for our great Nation.
  There are other communities that come together to remember lost 
friends and loved ones, but at home in Oregon, we have always said: 
Eagle Point and Central Point are the gold standard in terms of 
services and programs to recognize our veterans, and members of their 
family, who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation.
  I think we all know that this Memorial Day is going to be different. 
There will not be the same big gatherings, and there will not be as 
many parades. But one of the reasons I want to come to the floor of the 
Senate today--and I will be home this weekend thinking about Eagle 
Point and Central Point--is I want to make sure our country never ever 
diminishes the significance of this day.
  Never should our country take away our determination to honor those 
who pay the ultimate price in service to America, and it shouldn't 
cause us to forget that Memorial Day can be hard--very, very hard on 
the parents and spouses and children and friends our fallen heroes left 
behind. I know when I am recognized to speak in Central Point and in 
Eagle Point, I look out in the crowd, and I always see family members 
with a Kleenex by their eye, trying to remember and at the same time 
deal with the inevitable grief. This Memorial Day, I am going to be 
thinking of all of those who have come year after year to Central Point 
and Eagle Point in Southern Oregon to do something very, very 
important: to speak up for Oregon on the importance and appreciation we 
have for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
  My view is, this year, on Memorial Day, it is more important than 
ever to reach out and connect with those folks who are remembering 
loved ones they have lost in the line of duty--to give them a call, ask 
how they are holding up--because the last few months, in particular, 
have been tough on everybody, and their sacrifice shouldn't be 
forgotten.
  I know when I am home in Southeast Portland this weekend, I am going 
to be thinking about whom I am going to be talking to, checking in 
with, and see how they are doing just for the reason I mentioned. These 
have been tough times for everyone, and I think this is going to be a 
very difficult Memorial Day for those Americans who are remembering 
loved ones they have lost in the line of duty.
  It is also more important than ever to remember for ourselves that as 
Americans, we owe so much to so many. The parades and the services may 
have to wait until Memorial Day 2021, but our deep respect and 
gratitude for sacrifice does not.
  Just on a very personal note, apropos of the respect and gratitude 
for sacrifice, I think about my late father and my mother, both of whom 
fled the Nazis. Not all of our family got out. My great Uncle Max was 
one of the last who was gassed in Auschwitz. My father basically talked 
his way into our Army because he was a fluent young man in German, and 
he convinced our military that he could be part of our propaganda unit 
to drop the pamphlets on the Nazis, making it clear that they could 
never defeat our great troops.
  My mother, on the other hand, was a WAC, and I look often at the 
picture that is on my wall of my mother in her WAC uniform. For them, 
during their lives, Memorial Day was a really special day because they 
were so thrilled to be able to come to the freest and most open Nation 
on Earth and to be able to serve in our military. They, in

[[Page S2577]]

particular, would say, if they were here today: Ron, this is a special 
day for showing our deep respect and gratitude for those who made the 
ultimate sacrifice, and we are never going to miss a Memorial Day 
without expressing that sentiment.
  I am going to be, this weekend, thinking about how much I want to be 
back in Eagle Point and Central Point to celebrate Memorial Day, and I 
am going to be thinking about how now we have to find a way to honor 
and remember our fallen servicemembers a little bit differently than 
before.
  I would close--and perhaps I am the last speaker today in the Senate. 
I think I can speak for every Member of the Senate that this is 
especially important now to keep in our hearts all of those who have 
died serving our country, and let's do right by their families who are 
still with us.
  I close my remarks by wishing all Oregonians and Americans from sea 
to shining sea a healthy Memorial Day.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). Without objection, it 
is so ordered.