[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 21, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3052-S3053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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           THE GRAVITY OF MEMORIAL DAY MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, after the bloodiest war in U.S. history, 
an enlisted soldier in the Union Army was assigned to recover war dead 
from Southern battlefields. Brevet Lt.-Col. Edmund B. Whitman mapped 
out an intricate system of ``cemeterial districts'' that formed the 
framework for our system of National Cemeteries. They provide a final 
resting place for fallen heroes and sacred space for mourners and 
citizenry to honor those who gave their last full measure of devotion 
to preserve freedom and liberty for generations to come.

       ``That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall 
     ever be respected and honored itself.''--Brevet Lt.-Col. 
     Edmund B. Whitman, 1868

  After the Civil War, it became popular to place flowers near 
gravesites to honor the fallen. So-called ``decoration days'' in 
springtime came to be called Memorial Day. A Union General issued 
General Orders No. 11 urging the Nation not to forget the human toll of 
war.

       ``Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of 
     time, testify to the present or to the coming generations 
     that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and 
     undivided republic.''--General John A. Logan, May 5, 1868

  A century later, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the 
Uniform Monday Holiday Act, designating Memorial Day a Federal holiday 
on the last Monday in May.
  In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon signed the National Cemeteries 
Act to update and modernize the administration of gravesites, 
particularly for aging World War II and Korean war veterans, as well as 
future servicemembers. It transferred 82 National Cemeteries from the 
Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration, expanding its 
network to 103 National Cemeteries. Today, the National Cemetery 
Administration oversees 156 National Cemeteries, 35 soldiers' lots, and 
has 122 grant-funded State veterans cemeteries, including the Iowa 
Veterans Cemetery at Van Meter. One of the oldest in the country is 
located in southeast Iowa. Keokuk National Cemetery was established 
during the Civil War for veterans who died in local military hospitals. 
Cast-iron tablets inscribed with a verse from an elegiac poem ``Bivouac 
of the Dead'' written by Theodore O'Hara are found throughout our 
National Cemeteries, including in Keokuk. The original tablets were 
fabricated at Rock Island Arsenal in the late 19th century to replace 
painted signs first placed on battlefields turned into burial grounds. 
The most frequently quoted passage follows:

     On Fame's eternal camping-ground
     Their silent tents are spread,
     And Glory guards, with solemn round,
     The bivouac of the dead.

  On Memorial Day, the annual wreath-laying at Arlington National 
Cemetery is a somber moment to honor the sons and daughters lost on the 
battlefields of history. Since 1948, the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known 
as the Old Guard, places U.S. flags at more than 260,000 headstones and 
more than 7,000 columbarium niches containing the remains of the 
deceased. Iowa-born President Herbert Hoover led the first national 
Memorial Day ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 30, 
1929, calling on Americans to honor the ``unselfish souls who gave life 
in service to their ideals'' and that their sacrifice must evoke ``the 
most solemn mood of consecration'' to ``manifest our gratitude'' in 
memoriam of their valor for perpetuity.
  Since the Civil War, when Iowa sent the most soldiers per capita to 
the Union Army, Iowans have continued a legacy of strong military 
service, including the ultimate sacrifice. One of

[[Page S3053]]

the first three American soldiers killed in World War I was an Iowa 
farm boy from Glidden. Pvt. Merle David Hay was killed while serving 
sentry duty in the trenches in France. On May 25, 1930, thousands of 
people gathered at West Lawn Cemetery to dedicate an 8-foot granite 
monument in his honor. Travelers can see the monument while driving 
through Glidden on the historic Lincoln Highway.
  Put the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo on your 
family calendar. You will learn about Iowans who answered the call to 
serve in the Armed Forces, including all five Sullivan brothers who 
were tragically killed aboard the USS Juneau on November 13, 1942.
  Fifty years ago, one of the last servicemembers killed in Vietnam was 
a 19-year-old from Marshalltown. Lance Cpl. Darwin Lee Judge died 1 day 
before the fall of Saigon in 1975. As Saigon fell, Judge rescued a 3-
year-old girl, putting her on his back ``piggyback style'' and ran her 
out to the plane. His bravery saved her life and cost him his own in a 
mortar attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
  Every Memorial Day, communities across Iowa reverently celebrate 
hometown heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. From grave decorations 
to patriotic observances, neighbors, loved ones, and family members 
gather to pay tribute to these fallen heroes from one generation to the 
next, honoring their memories, bravery, and service. The sacrifice of 
these fallen servicemembers is a profound reminder to every American 
articulated by President Ronald Reagan, ``Ours is the land of the free 
because it is the home of the brave.''
  As Americans, it is our solemn duty to honor fallen servicemembers 
who have given their lives to defend our cherished blessings of 
freedom. In his acceptance speech for the Vice Presidential nomination 
in 1920, Calvin Coolidge imparted wisdom from history that rings truer 
than ever in the 21st century, ``The nation which forgets its defenders 
will be itself forgotten.''
  I encourage Iowa families to remember the defenders from our home 
State and hometowns who are deeply missed around supper tables and 
family celebrations. Be intentional on Memorial Day to attend community 
celebrations. Plan a road trip to visit nearby Freedom Rocks honoring 
veterans in each of Iowa's 99 counties. Find out the history of road 
names, parks, and post offices named for local heroes who died in 
service to our country. They put their precious lives on the line to 
preserve our way of life for generations yet to come. For that, 
Americans owe them an eternal debt of gratitude.

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