[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9426-9427]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL

  Ms. LINCOLN. Mr. President, in anticipation of Memorial Day, I rise 
to honor the 1.1 million Americans who have given their lives for this 
country. Their lasting legacy is freedom, both here and abroad.
  I hope this Memorial Day will be a special one for the World War II 
generation. Earlier this week, the Senate cleared the way for the 
construction of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. The 
brave men and women of this generation will finally receive the 
national recognition they deserve.
  I want to take time today to acknowledge the contributions of the 
nearly four million veterans of the Korean War. This issue is a 
personal one for me. My father is a veteran of the Korean War and I 
know his generation made tremendous sacrifices. During the course of 
the war, over 36,000 Americans lost their lives and over 90,000 were 
wounded.
  My father served in Korea as an enlisted man. He left for the 38th 
Parallel shortly after graduating from high school. When he returned, 
he married my mother and went to college at the University of Arkansas 
where he joined the ROTC. Upon graduation, his ROTC unit was activated 
and Dad left for the Azores for a 12 month assignment.

[[Page 9427]]

  Like many members of the military, my father didn't endure the 
sacrifice of service alone. My mother boarded a military flight to the 
Azores when my sister Mary was only 6 months old to join my father. The 
military didn't provide housing for married service members on the 
island and so my father had to make alternative arrangements before my 
mother and sister could join him. Once reunited, they lived as normal a 
life as possible in a trailer on an island in the Atlantic thousands of 
miles from home.
  Seldom do we properly recognize the contribution and sacrifice 
spouses and other family members make when a loved one joins the Armed 
Forces. So while we honor our nation's veterans on Memorial Day, let us 
also salute the spouses and other family members who share the 
sacrifice and burdens of military service.
  To commemorate this Memorial Day, I urge my colleagues and all 
Americans to watch the PBS documentary Korean War Stories. It will air 
in the evening on Sunday May 27th. This documentary has been sponsored 
by the Disabled American Veterans as a tribute to those who served 
during the Korean War.
  Our Korean War veterans served this nation with honor, dignity, and 
dedication, and, in the end, they preserved freedom on the Korean 
peninsula.
  I have the highest respect for the men and women who have served our 
nation in the Armed Forces, especially those who gave their lives to 
protect the freedoms we enjoy today. Their sacrifice on behalf of our 
country is commendable and I extend my sincere appreciation for the 
honorable service they have given.

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