[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING AVERY FRENCH OF TURKEY HILL SCHOOL IN ORANGE, CONNECTICUT

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                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2021

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, each year the community of Orange, 
Connecticut gathers for a solemn ceremony to mark Memorial Day. As part 
of this ceremony, local elementary school students are invited to 
submit essays that share their thoughts on Memorial Day and its meaning 
to them. Submissions from each of the community's three elementary 
schools are selected to be included in the ceremony. I had the 
opportunity to join the Orange ceremony this year and was inspired by 
the words of this year's winners and am pleased to have this 
opportunity to share them.
  Avery French, a student at Turkey Hill School submitted the following 
essay:

       Memorial Day is a special holiday for all Americans. We 
     celebrate and honor all the soldiers who have bravely given 
     up their lives so we could be a free country. We honor those 
     who fought for our country's future generations. All the 
     soldiers we honor today cared about more than just 
     themselves, they thought about us and sacrificed their lives 
     for the future of our country.
       Memorial Day shouldn't be confused with the similar 
     holiday, Veterans Day. Veterans Day honors all who have 
     served in the armed forces while Memorial Day honors those 
     who have died in the forces. Memorial Day was originally 
     given the name Decoration Day because of the tradition of 
     people decorating the graves of the country's fallen heroes. 
     Memorial Day was officially titled a federal holiday in 1971. 
     The tradition of honoring the fallen soldiers started the 
     years following the Civil War. The Civil War claimed many 
     lives of the country's soldiers. People held tributes in the 
     late 60's, around the time the Civil War ended, to honor the 
     dead soldiers, leaving flowers and other decorations at their 
     graves. While it is unclear how the tradition started, it was 
     declared by the Federal Government in 1966 that Waterloo, New 
     York was Memorial Day's official birthplace. Quote from 
     History.com, ``On the first Decoration Day, General James 
     Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 
     5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Civil War 
     soldiers buried there.'' This was very important because it 
     was the first time that people had the ability to remember 
     those who died in the armed forces with others.
       We celebrate this holiday known as Memorial Day to remember 
     those who have passed that fought hard. On Memorial Day we 
     will remember those who we will for now and forever remember 
     as America's Heroes. So yes, we celebrate Memorial Day in 
     honor of American soldiers.

  For more than two hundred years American soldiers have answered the 
call to defend our land and our values of freedom and democracy. With 
annual ceremonies like the one in Orange, that engage our youngest 
citizens, we ensure that we will never forget that our armed forces 
have a long and proud history, and that every one of our veterans has 
demonstrated outstanding courage, dedication, and service. It is my 
honor to rise today to thank A very French for her very special 
contribution to Memorial Day and her community.

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