[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15377-15378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                ``A NOTE OF THANKS TO THE `GREATEST' ''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 1999

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, looking forward toward July 4th, 
Independence Day, I believe it is absolutely appropriate that this 
country reflect on the sacrifices made to keep this country 
independent. Towards that goal, I would like to submit for the Record 
an essay by Philip Burgess which most eloquently makes the point.

                  A Note of Thanks to the ``Greatest''

       A few days ago I received an e-mail from a friend, an 
     attorney who reads a lot and is thoughtful about what he 
     reads. He had a good idea for Memorial Day.
       ``Like many other Americans,'' he began, ``I have been 
     reading Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation. As you know, it 
     is a book of short stories about how ordinary Americans 
     (farmers, factory workers and store clerks) came of age 
     during the Great Depression and the Second World War and, in 
     Brokaw's words, `went on to build modern America--men and 
     women whose everyday lives of duty, honor, achievement and 
     courage gave us the world we have today.' They sought no 
     praise or glory; they simply did a job they had to do.''
       He continued, ``Today, I had an interesting experience. I 
     attended a family gathering of a new Naval Academy graduate. 
     His grandfather was there. As a young man, the grandfather 
     had fought in the Pacific during WW II. Here I was, face-to-
     face with a member of the `greatest generation.' As I visited 
     with him, I was moved by my increasing awareness of how much 
     he and his peers had contributed to democracy and other 
     values I hold dear. I was also moved by the realization, that 
     on an individual basis, I had never thanked a WW II veteran 
     for what he or she had done for me and my family and the 
     freedom and opportunities we now enjoy and too often take for 
     granted.
       ``So, during a lull in the conversation, I approached the 
     grandfather. I looked him in the eye and I told him that I'd 
     been reading about and reflecting on what he and others like 
     him had done for me and for the country during WW II. And 
     then I said: `Thank you for what you did.'
       ``As he looked at me, the grandfather's eyes began to water 
     and he said: `No one has ever thanked me for that before.' He 
     then reached up and put his arm around my shoulders and said: 
     `Thank you. That means a lot to me.' We embraced, and then, 
     with a tear in my own eye, I turned around and walked away.''
       My friend's idea: ``As this Memorial Day approaches, I 
     encourage you to think of WW II veterans (or any other war 
     veteran) you know and communicate to them your personal 
     thanks for what they did during that great war. WW II 
     veterans are in the twilight of their lives. They will not be 
     around forever to receive your thanks.''
       I was moved by this note. I decided to start with a letter 
     to my relatives who were part of ``the greatest generation.'' 
     Uncle Bud served in the Pacific and would have been part of a 
     Japan invasion force, but was delivered from that fate by 
     President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb rather 
     than more American blood to end the war in the Pacific. Uncle 
     Walt was a B-24 bomber pilot and a flight instructor. Aunt 
     Betty was an Army nurse who accompanied the first infantry 
     units in the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau 
     and returned with pictures and other mementos that document 
     that many horrors that occurred there.
       I have talked with them many times about their wartime 
     experiences. But I have never thanked them for answering 
     their call to duty nor for their many subsequent 
     achievements, the fruits of which I enjoy today. I intend to 
     fix that before the week is over. I've already started the 
     letters, and with the first words last night, I began to 
     realize that it's my spirit that will be enriched by writing 
     these letters--at least as much as theirs will be lifted by 
     receiving them.
       A heart-felt ``thank-you'' always seems to work that way, 
     but it's their spirit and their

[[Page 15378]]

     achievements that we need to remember this Memorial Day.

     

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