[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21266]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              COLUMBUS, GEORGIA'S HOUSE OF HEROES PROGRAM

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, there is a great outpouring of 
human generosity taking place in our great country that I must speak 
about here today. I was honored to be with my friends and colleagues, 
including the late Senator Coverdell, Representatives Mac Collins and 
Sanford Bishop, Columbus Mayor Bobby Peters, Col. Frank Helmick, along 
with Wayne Anthony of Hands On Columbus and many, many other 
volunteers, as we embarked on the historic event of initiating the 
House of Heroes program. This program should serve as a model to 
communities all across the country to provide needed assistance and 
support for aging veterans who bravely served their country and their 
families.
  It is often said that ``Poor is the nation who has no heroes. Poorer 
still is the nation which has them but forgets them.'' The House of 
Heroes project makes sure we don't forget this adage by having 
volunteers take up shovels, paint brushes and brooms to show not only 
our veterans, but also their families, that they are not forgotten. 
This past May at the home of Betty Cook of Columbus, in my state of 
Georgia, the House of Heroes was inaugurated by federal, military, and 
local officials to help serve as a reminder to younger generations of 
Americans how our nation's older men and woman veterans have proudly 
served and sacrificed for their country to help preserve our freedom. 
The inauguration ceremony reminded us all that honor, valor, and 
sacrifice come not only from service members, but from their spouses 
and family as well. While Mrs. Cook's husband served his country as a 
medic in World War II, she fought the war at home. She supported their 
family on her own, while encouraging her husband to press on in battle 
overseas. Hundreds of thousands of G.I.'s fought for their families, 
sustained by the love they were getting from home. Victory was never 
won alone.
  The House of Heroes program relies on people who volunteer their 
services to repair and improve the home of a veteran and/or their 
spouse as an act of appreciation from the Congress of the United States 
and people of this nation. I am especially proud of those who 
contributed their time, effort and energy to help bring this project to 
fruition. It was especially uplifting to have witnessed the hard work 
that was put into the project. I would like to express my gratitude to 
each and every volunteer who made this worthy event the great success 
that it was.
  I strongly support H. Con. Res. 395 that expresses the sense of the 
Congress that the House of Heroes project in Columbus, Georgia, should 
serve as a model for public support for the Nation's veterans and 
strongly agree with everything this resolution represents. I especially 
thank Representative Mac Collins for introducing this worthy 
legislation.
  Today, Columbus, Georgia, remains home to thousands of service 
members and their families stationed at Ft. Benning and Columbus has 
always been a critical area for our nation's defenses, both past and 
present. The initiation of the House of Heroes program proves that from 
beginning to end, this remarkable city is home to some remarkable 
people. This event is only the beginning for the House of Heroes 
program as communities across the nation will begin to undertake their 
own House of Heroes programs modeled after the great program that the 
fine people of Columbus started.

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