[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 90 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3900-S3901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MEMORIAL DAY

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, our national anthem closes with the 
lines ``O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of 
the free, and the home of the brave?'' Usually sung as a declaration, 
the song's author actually intended for this to be a question, because 
while we often take our freedom as a guarantee, it should never be 
taken for granted.
  President Ronald Reagan once said:

       Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one 
     generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of 
     inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by 
     each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And 
     those in world history who have known freedom and then lost 
     it have never known it again.

  Our freedom depends on men and women who are willing to defend it no 
matter what the cost.
  This coming weekend, we will observe Memorial Day. It started as 
Decoration Day for the 1860s. Congress made Memorial Day a national 
holiday in 1968.
  Many people would take this day as an opportunity to cook out, go to 
the lake, go to the pool, be around friends, but that is not the 
purpose of this day. It is a time to reflect on the sacrifices that 
have been made for all of our freedom--those who made the ultimate 
sacrifice and the honorable families they leave behind.
  I think we can all agree our fallen heroes deserve to be remembered 
for more than one day a year. That is why I introduced the resolution 
to designate May as ``Fallen Heroes Memorial Month.'' I appreciate my 
friend

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Congressman  Dan Bishop of North Carolina for introducing this 
resolution in the House. I hope our colleagues will join us in passing 
this resolution because there is no cause more deserving for our time 
and effort.
  Setting aside a month to recognize our fallen servicemembers and 
their families instead of one day is the least we all can do.

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