[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 22696-22697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        THE GREATEST GENERATION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. HELEN CHENOWETH-HAGE

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 11, 2000

  Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, most of America's soldiers are just 
ordinary people. They are people from all walks of life who are 
sometimes asked to do extraordinary things. Those of us who haven't 
served in the armed forces will never know the pain they suffer or the 
hardships they can be asked to endure.
  However, I do want them to know the depth of our gratitude.
  For this reason, I'm happy to share with my colleagues a speech by 
Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin entitled ``The Greatest 
Generation,'' which emphasizes the sacrifices made by the World War II 
generation. He calls them this because they lived up to the challenges 
forced upon them by both our country's worst depression and our 
greatest war.
  Commissioner Rankin knows the sacrifices made by this generation. He 
learned this as a Marine fighting the Communists and the violent seas 
at Incheon, Korea. We can never thank this generation enough, but I 
would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to both Commissioner 
Rankin and the American servicemen who so bravely served our country. 
They met the challenges forced upon them in our country's hour of need.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing I commend the example of Ron Rankin to my 
colleagues, and hereby submit to the Record for their consideration 
``The Greatest Generation'' speech.

                          Greatest Generation

                            (By Ron Rankin)

       Fellow Veterans--Families and Friends of the Greatest 
     Generation: In December of 1776, just five months after the 
     Declaration of Independence had been signed and the thirteen 
     colonies were swept up in the American Revolution, Thomas 
     Paine wrote, ``These are the times that try men's souls. The 
     summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, 
     shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands 
     now deserves the love and thanks of all men and women.''
       We . . . American's greatest generation . . . are gathered 
     here today to remember all of those great patriots who stood 
     fast and held the line against tyranny, from the bridge at 
     Concord to the sands of the Persian Gulf, and to say thank 
     you . . . for without their courage, their dedication and 
     their willingness to die for what was right, we would not be 
     here today.
       I didn't serve in the Navy but many of my Marine Corps 
     brothers would not be here today were it not for Navy ships 
     bombarding the beaches before the troops landed . . . and for 
     the ships that shelled the enemy lines . . . directed by 
     forward observers on the ground--miles from the ships that 
     targeted the enemy with surgical precision.
       Fifty years ago this very week, I climbed down the nets at 
     the Incheon Landing executed by the Navy, fighting 30-foot 
     tides, a landing which became an epic in Navy and Marine 
     Corps history.
       Until Korea, my first-hand knowledge of the Navy was troop 
     ships, LST's and LCT's. Later in Korea, two regiments of the 
     First Marine Division were completely surrounded by over 100 
     thousand Chinese troops on the top of icy mountains at the 
     Chosin reservoir, 78 miles from the sea. . . Ten divisions of 
     Chinese troops had determined to annihilate our Division. We 
     survived,, thanks in part to the constant, dawn to dark 
     napalming of our perimeters by fighters many from carriers 
     off the coast . . . keeping the Communist troops at bay while 
     we regrouped for--our bloody fight to the sea.
       My fellow Marines and I--members of the ``Chosin Few''--owe 
     an everlasting debt of gratitude to the heroes of the United 
     States Navy for our survival. . . Our bond with the

[[Page 22697]]

     Navy was sealed on October 14, 1989 when the guided missile 
     cruiser USS Chosin was christened.
       Others we remember today died so that we might enjoy life, 
     liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Their legacy carries 
     with it a tremendous burden--the responsibility to so live 
     our lives that we may hold inviolate that for which we 
     bravely fought and for which so many gave their lives . . . 
     our freedom.
       Freedoms won on distant battlefields and on distant seas 
     can be lost in an instant here at home if we fail to carry on 
     the fight against tyranny.
       No one knows better than a Veteran that service to America 
     does not end when you come home from war. We fought for 
     freedom and we've seen our friends die for freedom, but in 
     spite of the great sacrifices of our fallen patriots of the 
     past, we have become a nation morally adrift--without compass 
     or rudder, sacrificing the generations we fought and died for 
     to an enemy we cannot see.
       In our wars, fought on the seas and on the fields of 
     battle, the enemy sailed great warships, he wore uniforms and 
     carried weapons--rifles, bayonets, grenades--he was 
     identifiable and we were armed and trained to recognize and 
     defeat him and defeat him we did!
       Today, another insidious enemy is already on our shores 
     striking at the very soul of America. This enemy does not 
     wear a uniform or fight with great ships at sea or with 
     bayonets or grenades . . . or sneak attack our fleets at 
     anchor. He is among us. He uses our media to desensitize us 
     against threats from abroad . . . to lull us to sleep to 
     facilitate future Pearl Harbors. He prays on the carnal 
     desires of our communities. He pollutes our children's minds 
     with filth and their bodies with drugs. He has taken God out 
     of our institutions and desecrates our flag with the approval 
     of our government. There are no distant drums of war 
     signaling this peril--no Pearl Harbors, no foxholes, 
     trenches, bayonets or grenades in this war. The ammunition is 
     knowledge, which we must all continue to seek . . . and the 
     battle is being fought in the city halls, the courthouses, 
     the legislatures, and in the Congress, to rebuild our 
     decaying military, to return dignity and respect to our men 
     and women in uniform living on food stamps.
       I say to you here today, you patriots and protectors of our 
     progeny and their heritage, as Patrick Henry stated, ``the 
     enemy is in the field . . . why stand we here idle?''
       Thank God we survived the wars. Thank God that our fallen 
     buddies . . . patriots all . . . cared enough about our 
     country and its future that they laid down their lives to 
     preserve it, and thank God that with His help, we may have 
     the strength and determination to carry on and make this 
     again the ``One Nation Under God'' for which we served and 
     our buddies died. It is a tremendous responsibility, but we 
     owe it to them and to future generations.
       The future begins today, the future begins with us. May God 
     continue to bless America and may He bless us all in our 
     righteous endeavors.
       For this I ask humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

       

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