[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6632-S6633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, today in Oklahoma, people are going to 
work, people are going to school, people are on their job, people are 
in their yard, people are on bikes, people are going for a quiet run in 
beautiful weather because tomorrow is Veterans Day. We enjoy freedom 
and peace today because of what those veterans have done for a very 
long time.
  Whatever community you are in in Oklahoma, whether you are in 
Oklahoma City or in Tulsa, or in Lawton, whether you are in Guymon, or 
Idabel, Altus, or Waukomis--it doesn't matter--you are going to find 
drawings; you are going to find displays; you are going to find 
military hardware; you are going to find memorials and monuments to 
veterans who have served because across our State we remember extremely 
well the sacrifice that has been made for the quietness of this day, 
the ability to have an election, the ability to send our kids to 
school, the ability to work hard, to fight off a virus, the ability to 
invent and innovate because 1 percent of our Nation has set aside their 
life to be able to guard the rest of the 99 percent of us. We in 
Oklahoma could not be more grateful for the service of those women and 
men over the years and currently.
  As a nation, we pause on Veterans Day and remember, but I think about 
veterans who don't just pause once a year to do it. It is part of who 
they are. They served our Nation in the military, and they find ways to 
continue to serve veterans and to serve the people around them in their 
community every single day.
  There are people who work at the veterans centers in Oklahoma who are 
remarkable people who help veterans literally every week to be able to 
work through and navigate the bureaucracy. Our office works with them 
to try to get solutions and answers if they have issues with the VA or 
they have issues with trying to get their medals or whatever it may be. 
But these volunteers are scattered all across our State.
  We have staff members today who are working in veterans facilities 
scattered all over the State who are taking care of veterans who are 
basically in an assisted living-type environment or in a nursing long-
term care environment. Those individuals get up every single day and 
love on veterans. They look them in the eye, when they are now at their 
weakest moment of their life since their infancy, and say: Our Nation 
still cares about you.
  There are people today in Oklahoma who work on Federal housing 
programs designed to help veterans who are homeless on the street to 
get care, to find a place to live, and to get established. There are 
people in Oklahoma today who are working with Federal programs to help 
veterans who have struggled with addiction, some who didn't reacclimate 
well. They are helping them right now because our Nation has not 
forgotten about them.
  While we grieve with those who grieve--because Veterans Day also 
brings back the memory, for some families who are Gold Star families, 
of the ones they have lost--we remind them again that we have not 
forgotten, and we say thank you to those folks who are serving our 
veterans every single day.
  I also think about folks like Bob Ford, who lives in Okeene, OK. He 
is working at Shawnee Milling Company and does a remarkable job just 
providing for the people in the community, but he has also kept alive 
the memory of fellow Vietnam veterans. In so many ways, he helps not 
only the park and other places to remember, but he also makes sure on 
Veterans Day that there are speakers in local schools and that someone 
is retelling the message. He is the one in the community who is always 
making sure there is a patriotic display at some point. You see, he is 
a Vietnam veteran himself who is serving and working in the community 
but who has also turned around said, though his uniform is not on 
anymore, he wants to make sure the next generation knows what honorable 
service really looks like.
  There are folks like Terry Hill from Kellyville, OK, who enlisted in 
the Army in 2013 as an engineer and was commissioned as an officer in 
2008. He became a Black Hawk aeromedical research and maintenance test 
pilot. He flew 750 combat missions in Afghanistan over multiple 
deployments before he came down really, really hard one time and had a 
medical discharge.
  You see, for Terry, Veterans Day is not a once-a-year thing. He 
founded Rapid Application Group in his home. It is an additive 
manufacturing company. In fact, his is the only additive manufacturing 
company that has a disabled veteran running it in the entire country. 
Every Friday, he has a hashtag ``RAG Friday.'' Many of those who work 
in his company are also fellow veterans. But every Friday, he reminds 
everyone to watch out for fellow veterans, to watch out for issues like 
possible suicide senses, to engage with those folks who have made great 
sacrifices to serve our Nation, and to continue to check on them 
because some of the things they have experienced and some of the 
challenges they have faced leave lasting memories for them. As they 
stood for our freedom and our country forgets those moments, they never 
do because they have lived them firsthand. So his simple way to do RAG 
Fridays every Friday and to challenge folks to not forget veterans in 
your community is his way of being able to serve folks.
  Again, as a nation, we have not forgotten, but we are exceptionally 
grateful for those who remind us as a nation not just to remember once 
a year but to stay engaged with those veterans who have given so much 
and continue to give so much.
  Honestly, I don't know a veteran who is not still serving. They find 
ways to

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serve each other. They find ways to serve their community because it is 
in their heart, and it is deep within their soul. They have served our 
Nation, and they will continue to serve our Nation. And while some need 
our help, I most often hear from veterans: How can I help?
  So let me just say from my heart and from my State: Thank you, again, 
for serving the way that you serve. Allow us to say thank you to you 
face-to-face today and to tell you once again, we have not forgotten, 
and we are grateful for the sacrifice you and your family have made.
  For those Gold Star families, we cannot thank you enough because 
every day you remember, and you need to hear from us that so do we.
  When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan, they went back into that 
dry area and gathered stones. And they set those stones on the 
embankment for one specific purpose.
  The purpose was simple. They said: When your children walk past these 
stones in the days ahead and they say ``What are those stones for?'' 
you are to remind them of the faithfulness of God. They were to be a 
permanent reminder.
  Allow Veterans Day and the military memorials all over the State 
today to be a good teaching moment for our children so that when they 
say ``Why is that there?'' we remind them of the freedom that we have 
and the cost of that freedom and express our gratitude again to the 
veterans who have served us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

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