[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11202]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   RECOGNIZING AND HONORING MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS AND COMMENDING 
                           IPALCO ENTERPRISES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JULIA CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 26, 1999

  Ms. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, the end of May brings us to Memorial Day, a 
time of national remembrance and honor for those who have passed on. 
Once known as Decoration Day, devoted to the decoration of the graves 
of veterans of service in the Civil War, in the years between its focus 
has changed.
  I rise to pay a special tribute to a man of vision and the company he 
leads in Indianapolis, Indiana, for their work this year to bring the 
Memorial Day tradition back to our minds and our hearts in a new and 
important way.
  Mr. Speaker, downtown Indianapolis is lined with stone memorials to 
the men and women in uniform who served our nation at war and at peace 
down through the years. Nearby, a memorial to the men of the USS 
Indianapolis marks their service. On Monument Circle, at the very heart 
of downtown Indianapolis, stands the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, 
standing nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty, a multifaceted 
recognition of the contributions of Indiana's Soldiers, Sailors and 
Marines from the Civil War through the Spanish American War, the Boxer 
Rebellion and our other foreign military engagements up to World War I.
  Across the street, facing the monument, is the corporate headquarters 
of IPALCO. Looking out upon that memorial are the offices of John 
Hodowal, President and Chairman of the Board.
  For many years, Memorial Day has been associated with a world-famous 
sporting event--the Indianapolis 500. In our hometown, the arrival of 
the weekend of the race is celebrated with a major civic event, the 500 
Festival Parade, through our city's downtown, passing block after block 
of those memorials.
  Just last June, John Hodowal and his wife Caroline were reading an 
article in The New York Times about America's winners of the 
Congressional Medal of Honor. They learned to their dismay that, since 
the Civil War, 3400 heroic Americans had earned the honor but that 
there was no place in America devoted to their remembrance. Then came 
the glimmer of an idea.
  This year, thanks to the civic virtue of John Hodowal, and the civic 
enterprise of the corporation he leads, IPALCO Enterprises and the 
IPALCO Enterprises Foundation, something truly special is planned.
  While IPALCO deserves praise for leading the 500 Festival this year, 
there is more. The Hodowals' idea has produced a wonderful new memorial 
in honor of those special American heroes who, for military service 
above and beyond the call of duty, were awarded the Congressional Medal 
of Honor down through the years of our history as a nation.
  In recognition of the valor of these American heroes and to 
commemorate IPALCO for its generosity, I have sponsored a resolution 
honoring these champions.
  This Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis, nearly 100 of the 157 
surviving Medal of Honor recipients will be honored as special guests 
for the dedication of the memorial and will serve as honorary Grand 
Marshals of the parade.
  Our remembrance this day of those who earned our nation's highest 
military recognition by their heroism is a wondrous way to commemorate 
the service of all veterans.
  Mr. Hodowal's idea, expressed in glass and sound and light and stone, 
transcends and transforms the traditional notion of such honors in our 
city. This monument, reminding and inspiring all who walk by the bank 
of the canal in Military Park, is an important piece, a central place, 
for the eternal honor these heroes are due.
  For Mr. Hodowal, and for IPALCO Enterprises, this day is yours, as 
well. I am prouder than words can express to say that I know you. For 
this gift to the city and to the nation, for your civic service above 
and beyond the call, I salute you.

                          ____________________