[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15471]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IDAHO STATE VETERANS CEMETERY

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge a very 
special event happening in Idaho on July 31. For my colleagues in the 
Senate who have never been to Boise, ID, I will describe a little of 
what that part of my State looks like.
  On a clear day, miles stretch out before you bounded to the south by 
the Snake River Valley and distant mountains, to the east and west by a 
vast expanse of open sky, and behind you to the north, by foothills 
rising to meet their less-weathered relatives.
  The wind blows with reassuring regularity, and it seems that in this 
western meeting place of land and sky, at once comfortingly familiar 
and awe-inspiring, it is indeed an appropriate place to rest our fallen 
warriors of freedom and pay our respects and tribute to their 
sacrifices.
  The Idaho State Veteran's Cemetery represents the vision and hard 
work of many dedicated Idahoans. These men and women have focused their 
energy and donated their time and money to see this tremendous project 
to fruition. An idea that for many years was in the hearts of concerned 
patriots, the cemetery is the first of its kind to be built in Idaho, 
and its construction allows Idaho to finally join the rest in having a 
state veterans' cemetery.
  Gazing out at this vista of the junction of earth and sky, and the 
visible freedom of wide open space causes us to reflect upon the 
freedom that our country stands for; the freedom for which the men and 
women who will rest here committed their lives, some ending either much 
too young in combat or others after fulfilling and long lives. In this 
time of sacrifice by yet another great generation of brave young men 
and women, this place gives comfort and exists as a testament to the 
age-old ritual of caring for those that have gone before us, in a 
proper and appropriate military manner that reflects their sacrifice, 
sense of duty and selfless devotion to the cause of liberty.
  This place and the people for whom it is preserved remind us that 
freedom is eternal, and their and our living and dying are not in 
vain.

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