[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 9830]]

                          EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

                     IN HONOR OF AMERICAN VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 25, 2001

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, On Monday, Americans throughout our great 
Nation will pause to honor those men and women who nobly sacrificed 
their lives to protect the safety and liberty of their fellow citizens.
  Originally designated as ``Decoration Day'' to honor Veterans of the 
Civil War, and first observed on May 30, 1868, or modern Memorial Day 
now recognizes those one-million, three hundred and twelve-thousand, 
eight-hundred and ten heroes who died in defense of our Country in one 
or more of her conflicts: the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the 
Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the 
Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.
  To the extent that we now enjoy the many rights inherent in a 
democracy, as well as those freedoms and benefits that we as a self-
governing people bestow upon ourselves and our posterity, we owe great 
thanks to those defenders of democracy who died in war, so that we 
might live in peace.
  We should also take time on this Memorial Day to honor all those 
Americans who have ever served in our Armed Forces, and to those great 
Americans who continue to volunteer to defend our Nation to this day. 
Without their continued commitment, courage and contributions, we would 
not enjoy the opportunity to be here, in this great land, reveling in 
the freedom that their noble deeds have allowed us to celebrate.
  We should also take time today to reaffirm our commitment to our 
soldiers and our veterans: all men and women who voluntarily serve 
their Nation in the Armed Forces have earned the greatest respect, 
courtesy, and care that we can provide, and we as a Congress should 
never hesitate to deliver those benefits to our Veterans.
  As we welcome this new Memorial Day in America, in peace and 
democracy, we solemnly acknowledge that the sacrifices of our Veterans 
have not been in vain, and will never be forgotten.

                          ____________________