[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING OUR VETERANS

  (Mrs. MILLER of Michigan asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, shortly after the conclusion of 
the Civil War, a group of veterans began a tradition known as 
Decoration Day. The day was set aside to decorate the graves of the men 
who had perished during battle, and it was believed Decoration Day was 
always during the month of May because flowers needed for the occasion 
were finally blooming. Two centuries later, Decoration Day is now 
Memorial Day, but two core traditions remain: we honor those who died 
protecting our Nation, and we still do so in May when the flowers are 
blooming.
  Today, as our Nation spends it third consecutive Memorial Day at war, 
we remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice defending 
the precious gift of liberty. We honor the people who have left behind 
husband, wives, children and parents, as well as the riches and 
celebrations of life, to fight for the freedoms of all Americans; and 
we should remain always remindful of that symbolic tradition of 
Decoration Day, that flowers will bloom, a beautiful America will bloom 
from the sacrifices made by our fallen veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, we give thanks for the service of our veterans; and to 
those who served and paid the ultimate price, we give our deepest 
thanks.

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