[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 22]
[Senate]
[Pages 30537-30538]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 89 years ago this Sunday, the guns fell 
silent in Europe. It was the end of a global conflict so savage that 
many people doubted anyone would ever want to start a war again. New 
technologies had clashed with old ways of fighting to create new 
horrors and apocalyptic battles like the Somme, which tested not only 
the limits of armies but our powers of comprehension.
  America had no role in starting the war, but we played a decisive one 
in ending it. Our Doughboys earned the gratitude of entire nations. 
They gave their countrymen a new sense of purpose. And America would 
always remember Armistice Day, as President Wilson said, with ``solemn 
pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and 
with gratitude for the victory. . . . .''
  As we all know, the War to End All Wars did not live up to its name. 
Just 11 years after it ended, a former corporal from the German Army 
who had fought on the Western Front was already building a regime that 
would bring new horrors. At the end of World War I, museums were 
dedicated to the memory of war. But soon enough even ``Big Willie,'' 
the first tank, was being rolled out of one of those museums and 
converted into shells and shrapnel for another terrible war.
  And again, the world would turn to America for help. More than 16 
million U.S. servicemen would be called upon to defend the cause of 
freedom against tyranny and terror in World War II--young men like 2LT 
Dan Inouye Honolulu and a 19-year-old surfer from Manhattan Beach, CA, 
named Ted Stevens.
  It has been noted that when American servicemen came home from World 
War II, no one said, ``We Won!'' They said ``It's over!'' Because, as 
President Roosevelt once observed, ``The primary purpose of the United 
States of America is to avoid being drawn into war.'' When called, our 
young men and women have served. But when the fight is over, they just 
want to go home.
  And World War II was like that. Everybody just picked up where they 
left off, stepped right back into the assembly line, or the office, or 
the baseball diamond, or the boxing ring. These are the humble heroes 
of our country, the only aristocrats in a democracy--men and women who 
risk their lives so we can live in freedom and peace. And who ask 
nothing in return but to return to their hometowns and to carry on as 
they please.
  And so it is up to us to speak well of them, to honor them in special 
ceremonies and songs and in this annual day of remembrance that for the 
last 53 years we have referred to simply as Veterans Day. Since 1954, 
Americans have paused on November 11 not just to remember the men who 
fought in the Great War those who fought in all our wars: from Valley 
Forge to Antietam, from the beaches of France to the jungles of 
Vietnam--paused to remember and to thank them for what they have done 
for us and for the ``millions not yet born'' whose freedom will rest on 
their sacrifice.
  We also remember this Veterans Day those who will soon be called 
veterans, the men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq who are have 
volunteered to protect us in this new era from new horrors and the many 
men and women who have died in this struggle for freedom--people like 
SGT William Bowling, of Beattyville, KY, a shy but proud husband and 
father who was killed earlier this year by a roadside bomb while 
patrolling the streets of Baghdad.
  Like so many before him, Sergeant Bowling threw himself into his 
mission. ``This is the job he wanted to do,'' his wife Jennifer said 
shortly after his death. ``He wanted to serve his country.''
  By his courage and devotion to duty and the cause of freedom, 
Sergeant Bowling showed the best that Kentucky and this country have to 
offer. And he reminds all of us what makes this country great: young 
men and women who believe that serving others is greater than serving 
self, and who have proved it in every generation since Yorktown by 
making the sacrifices freedom too often demands.
  There is no greater service to our great Nation than the one Sergeant 
Bowling gave on a dusty road in Baghdad. And there is no greater hope 
for humanity than men and women like him. They come from places like 
Honolulu and Manhattan Beach. They come from places like Beattyville.

[[Page 30538]]

  And we pray to God that they continue to come.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President. I would like to take a moment to 
commemorate Veterans Day and honor all those who have served, fought, 
and sacrificed for our country and the freedom all Americans enjoy.
  We as a nation should never forget the debt we owe to the generations 
of Americans who have served as soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. 
From the First and Second World Wars, to Korea, Vietnam, and the 
Persian Gulf war, millions of Americans have answered the call of duty 
to preserve the freedom we all hold so dear. This is also true for our 
service men and women who are right now doing an amazing job in Iraq 
and the war on terror and throughout the world.
  Sadly, many Americans have paid the ultimate price and have given 
their lives for our country. No praise can be too great for the 
courage, valor, and patriotism of these men and women, and their 
sacrifice will never be forgotten.
  I think it is also important to remember the service of veterans to 
our country has never ended with their departure from the Armed Forces. 
They have enriched every community in which they reside with their 
strength of character, hard work, and devotion to family. For this we 
must also be grateful.
  On this Veterans Day, I hope New Mexicans will honor all the veterans 
of our great Nation, but I would like them to think particularly about 
our service men and women who are right this moment in harm's way. 
They, like all veterans, have left behind the comfort of home, family, 
and friends to defend our country and its countless blessings. For 
this, many have paid an immense price, emotionally and physically. I 
know our thoughts and prayers are with these outstanding individuals.
  Again, I would like to thank all those who have served past and 
present to preserve and protect our great Nation.

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