[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 92 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2740-S2741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MEMORIAL DAY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this coming Monday is Memorial Day, the 
day we set aside to honor the more than 1.1 million Americans who have 
given their lives in military service to our Nation.
  It is a solemn day of remembrance and has a special resonance in my 
state. One of America's first Memorial Day ceremonies occurred in 
Illinois. It was April 1866--barely a year after the end of America's 
terrible Civil War.
  Three returning veterans from that great conflict were waiting for 
services to begin at a church in Carbondale when they saw a young woman 
with two infants approach a small, unmarked grave in the church 
cemetery, place flowers on the grave, and kneel in prayer. The 
veterans, deeply moved, collected wildflowers and placed them at all of 
the veterans' graves in the churchyard. They then arranged to host a 
parade of veterans to honor the war dead resting in the town's 
cemetery.
  More than 200 veterans showed up for that parade--one of America's 
first Memorial Day parades. Among the marchers was General John Logan, 
a Civil War hero and proud son of Illinois. The following year, General 
Logan was appointed the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. One of his first acts as commander in chief was to call for a 
national day of remembrance to honor the soldiers who sacrificed their 
lives so that America could receive a ``new birth of freedom.''
  In the Army's General Order No. 11--the ``Memorial Day Order''--
General Logan wrote of his hope that the day of remembrance would be 
``kept up from year to year, [as long as] a survivor of the war remains 
to honor the memory of his departed comrades.''
  On this Memorial Day, more than a century and a half later, we 
remember all of the American patriots who have fallen in battles--from 
Antietam, to the Argonne Forest, to Afghanistan. General Logan called 
their deaths ``the cost of a free and undivided republic.''
  In these fractious times, when our Nation sometimes feels, again, 
like a house divided, may we remember the price those fallen heroes 
paid to preserve our Union. And may we also remember the duty we each 
bear to preserve the priceless gift for which they gave their lives--
this Nation, free and undivided.
  On a related note, I want to take a moment to wish a belated happy 
birthday to an American hero who returned from war. Sgt. Victor Butler 
is that last surviving Tuskegee Airman in his home State of Rhode 
Island and one of the last of that legendary Band of Brothers in our 
Nation. Last Saturday, May 21, Mr. Butler celebrated his 100th 
birthday.
  When he was a young man, he and the other members of the Tuskegee 
Airmen helped to save the world from the tyranny of fascism--and he 
helped to loosen the grip of racism on America. In the weeks before his 
100th birthday, Mr. Butler told family and friends all he wanted for 
his centennial celebration was a card. He didn't want folks to make a 
fuss or go to any great expense.
  One of his nieces posted his wish on social media--and word spread. 
He thought he might receive a few cards. At last count, Mr. Butler had 
received more than 40,000 cards and video greetings from people in 
every State in the Union and as far away as Japan, South Korea, and 
Germany.
  Last Saturday, on his birthday, his hometown held a parade in his 
honor. And he received a signed football and a jersey with the number 
``100'' on the back, hand-delivered by the owner of his favorite 
football team, the New England Patriots--a well-deserved tribute to a 
real-life hero.
  Like the tradition of Memorial Day, the Tuskegee Airmen have a 
special connection to my State. The first airfield where they trained--
before Tuskegee--was Chanute Field in Rantoul, IL, near Champaign. The 
spot where that airfield stood is marked proudly today with signs that 
read ``Birthplace of the Tuskegee Airmen.'' And in 2016, Illinois 
renamed a stretch of Interstate 57 on the South Side of Chicago as the 
Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Trail. It is a fitting tribute, given how many 
Tuskegee Airman had roots in the Chicago area.
  African-Americans have fought and died for America's freedom since 
Crispus Attucks became the first American to fall in our War for 
Independence.
  As the first African-American aviators ever to serve in the U.S. Army 
Air Corps, the Tuskegee Airman occupy a special chapter in our Nation's 
history. They fought in World War II, at a time when the U.S. Armed 
Forces were still segregated, and our Nation was still riven with 
racially discriminatory laws and attitudes. Their original mission was 
to serve as escort pilots for other American flyers, to protect them 
from enemy fire. The Tuskegee Airmen also flew bombing missions 
themselves.
  Officially, they were known as the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 
332nd Fighter Group. But the pilots whose flights they protected gave 
them a nickname. They called them the Red Tails, or the Red-Tailed 
Angels, due to the distinctive color on their aircraft

[[Page S2741]]

wings. Their leader was the legendary Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., 
who would go on to become the first African-American brigadier general 
in the U.S. Air Force. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., was the 
first Black brigadier general in the U.S. Army.
  There were a total of 932 Tuskegee Airmen pilots, and another 10,000 
Tuskegee Airmen--and women--who served as mechanics, radio operators, 
and other essential support positions. They conducted more than 700 
bomber escort missions--and they never lost a single lost a single 
aircraft--not one. They were the only fighter group in World War II 
with a perfect record of protecting bombers.
  White U.S. military pilots were permitted to fly no more than 52 
missions during World War II. Some Tuskegee Airman flew as many as 100 
missions. Sixty-six Tuskegee Airmen died in combat. Thirty-three were 
held as prisoners of war.
  In March 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen as a group were awarded the 
Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow. The 
ceremony was held in the Rotunda of the Capitol. I will never forget 
the sight of 300 Tuskegee Airman dressed in red sports jackets, 
saluting the American flag in that hallowed space. Some were in 
wheelchairs. But when the National Anthem played, they all rose to 
their feet and stood straight and proud.
  Just before the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, I had the 
privilege of hosting several Tuskegee Airmen with Illinois roots in my 
office. Then-Senator Obama stopped by to pay his respects. It was a 
historic and humbling moment.
  I met Lt. Colonel George Sherman, who grew up in Moline and joined 
the Army Air Corps in 1944 at the age of 18. He had to take the 
physical twice; he was rejected the first time because of his buck 
teeth, but he didn't give up. He ended up serving 22 years in the Air 
Force.
  First Lieutenant Shelby Westbook was born in Arkansas and lost both 
of his parents when he was just 12. He flew 60 missions over 12 
countries in Europe. After the war, he wanted to attend engineering 
school. The first school he applied to rejected him because it didn't 
accept Black students. He moved to Chicago, earned a degree, and worked 
as an electrical engineer for decades.
  First Lieutenant Robert Martin famously claimed to have flown ``63 
and a half missions.'' On his 64th combat mission, he was shot down 
over Yugoslavia. He was hidden by antifascist partisans until he could 
return to his unit. After the war, he worked as an electrical engineer 
for the city of Chicago for nearly 40 years.
  Flight Officer John Lyle--``Captain Jack'' to his friends--grew up on 
Chicago's South Side. He flew 26 combat missions. After the war, he 
earned a college degree but couldn't find work in his field so, for a 
time, he washed windows of downtown skyscrapers. Eventually, he owned 
his own insurance agency, a fish and chicken restaurant, and a tree-
trimming service.
  Lt. Bev Dunjill flew more than 100 combat missions between World War 
II and the Korean war. He later worked for the Illinois Department of 
Human Rights.
  All of those heroes are gone now. But their valor and impact are not 
forgotten. The Tuskegee Airmen and the all-Black Montfort Point Marines 
were among nearly 1 million Black Americans who served in World War II. 
Most saw the war as a battle on two fronts--one against fascism 
overseas and the other against racially discriminatory laws and 
attitudes in America.
  Their goal, they said, was ``the Double V,'' victory for democracy 
overseas and at home. The change at home did not come easily, but it 
did come. Three years after World War II ended, President Truman 
ordered an end to segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces. And the service 
and sacrifice of the Tuskegee Airmen and other Black veterans and 
leaders helped set the stage for the civil rights movement of the 
1950s, 60s, and 70s.
  Today, as the last surviving Tuskegee Airman near their 100th 
birthdays and we lose hundreds of World War II veterans each day, we 
are painfully aware that the democracy and unity they paid such a high 
price for is under threat, both overseas and at home. The peace of 
Europe and democracy itself is under fire from Russia in Ukraine. And 
our sense of security and national unity seems to be fraying at home. 
Violence--especially gun violence--threatens us all, even our children.
  Our progress against division and discrimination often feels shaky. 
We are pitted against each other by those who believe that conflict and 
anger is good for their political interests or their profit sheets. But 
it doesn't have to be this way.
  As we prepare to remember and honor those who gave their lives for 
our freedom, let us resolve to do our part, in our time, to keep our 
Nation free and undivided.

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