[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 72 (Friday, April 28, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO ROBERT A. ``MUZ'' MURRAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEPHEN F. LYNCH

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 28, 2023

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in memory of a dedicated and 
exceptional American patriot, Robert A. ``Muz'' Murray.
  Born on September 2, 1935, Robert was a beloved native of South 
Boston and a resident of Quincy and Hull.
  As a middle-school student at St. Brigid School, 12-year-old Robert 
entered a congressional essay contest entitled, ``America, What it 
means to me,''--sponsored by Speaker John McCormack of Boston. 
Fittingly, Robert's impassioned and patriotic entry on the ideals and 
struggles embodied by our Nation earned the honor of first place--along 
with a special invitation for Robert to join President Harry Truman for 
lunch at the White House.
  In the enduring spirit of his essay, Robert dedicated each day of his 
87 years to personifying the principles and values that he held dear as 
an American. Inspired by our shared commitment to liberty, democracy, 
and humanity, Robert devoted his life in service to his country, his 
community, and his family. As a veteran of the United States Army and a 
devoted husband, father of three, and grandfather of five, Robert also 
instilled service and dedication in all that knew him.
  Robert Murray passed away peacefully on December 23, 2022. It was at 
his funeral mass that his 1947 essay was read publicly for the first 
time, as the closing words offered by his youngest daughter, Erin. 
Include in the Record Mr. Murray's essay.

                      America, What it Means to Me

       To me, America means homeland. It means my country blessed 
     beyond all countries with the beauty and natural resources, 
     with its inland seas and coursing rivers, teeming with food; 
     its towering mountains, piled high with the riches of the 
     earth; its fertile fields yielding harvest that might feed 
     the world; its cities and towns all throbbing with human life 
     and industry. America means all this but it means much more, 
     much more than the country's materials wealth and power.
       To me, America means the land of liberty--a land whose 
     democracy, whose ideals of religion, freedom and equality 
     make it pre-eminent among the nations of the earth. In this 
     land, my homeland, the land of liberty, every man has the 
     ownership of himself. He is free to enjoy the results of his 
     labors, to declare the convictions of his mind, to share in 
     the making of its laws, and in selecting the rulers of the 
     nation.
       America is the land of the free, where every man, no matter 
     how lowly, is a free man in the free country, free to enjoy 
     all its rights and liberties.
       To me, America means the struggles, the sufferings, and the 
     sacrifices, which paid the price of these liberties I enjoy.
       It is symbolized by the flag I love--the red, white and 
     blue flag; its rich red for American patriots' blood; the 
     white for America's high ideals and purposes; its blue for 
     the boundless hopes America awakes in humanity. That is what 
     American means to me.

  Mr. Speaker, may Robert Murray's words serve as a great reminder of 
who we are as a Nation.

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