[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             101ST ANNIVERSARY OF VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS

  (Ms. PRYCE of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, on the evening of September 29, 
1899, 13 men gathered in a tailor's shop at 286 East Main Street in 
Columbus, Ohio. They were all veterans of the U.S. 17th Infantry 
Regiment who had fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. They 
gathered to remember those killed in action, to assist their surviving 
brothers, and to care for the families of those who had died. This 
meeting formed the foundation of an order, which we know today as the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
  While the total significance of this first meeting was unknown to 
these 13 veterans, without a question, the VFW's actions have left an 
indelible mark on the last 100 years of our Nation's proud history.
  Madam Speaker, tomorrow I will have the distinct privilege and honor 
to unveil an historic marker at the very site where the VFW was born, 
exactly 101 years ago in Columbus. As a sponsor of this historic 
marker, I am proud that we will be commemorating


the very spot where this organization first got its start. Undoubtedly, 
this marker represents the VFW's wonderful tradition of service to our 
community in central Ohio and to our great Nation.

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