[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9775]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         VETERANS HONOR FLIGHT

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, North Dakota has long maintained strong 
ties with our Nation's military.
  My State is home to two Air Force bases and the Nation's best Air 
National Guard unit. More of our young people volunteer to serve their 
country in the military than nearly any other State.
  In North Dakota, our commitment to our troops does not end when we 
welcome them home from war. We also have a strong tradition of honoring 
our veterans. In fact, when I started a North Dakota Veterans History 
Project 5 years ago to record the stories of our veterans for future 
generations, the outpouring of interest resulted in more than 1,500 
interviews.
  So I did not find it surprising that when the WDAY television station 
based in Fargo, ND, organized an ``Honor Flight'' to bring veterans of 
World War II to Washington, D.C., it had an overabundance of donors and 
too few seats to accommodate all the veterans. But WDAY has chartered a 
flight to Washington next month and will bring 100 veterans of World 
War II to see the memorial on our National Mall that was built in their 
honor. My colleagues, Senator Conrad and Congressman Pomeroy, and I 
will host a reception for them in the historic Russell Caucus Room.
  I can't think of a better way to pay tribute to these heroes than 
this trip to our Nation's Capital. Many of them will visit for the 
first time the World War II Memorial that is a powerful symbol of the 
sacrifice they made for the safety and freedom of our country and the 
world.
  This is a group of Americans who were appropriately labeled ``the 
greatest generation'' by Tom Brokaw. I remember reading his book some 
years ago and marveling again at the dedication those young men, and 
some young women, expressed to this country. They dedicated their lives 
to defeating the fascism and Nazism that threatened the peace and 
prosperity of the world. They kept the free world free. Many paid for 
it with the ultimate sacrifice--their lives.
  Several years ago, I was reminded just how important their sacrifice 
was when I was part of a congressional delegation involved in 
discussions with members of the European Parliament. We had been 
discussing some differences between the United States and the Europeans 
for some time. It was at this point that a European delegate stopped me 
and said, ``Mr. Senator, I want you to understand how I feel about your 
country.''
  He said, ``In 1944, I was 14 years old and standing on a street 
corner in Paris, France, when the U.S. Liberation Army marched in and 
freed my country from the Nazis.''
  He said, ``A young American soldier reached out his hand and gave 
that 14-year-old boy an apple. I will go to my grave remembering that 
moment. You should understand what your country means to me, to us, to 
my country.''
  To me, this man's story is a testament to the respect and admiration 
people around the world feel for our country. And this is because the 
``greatest generation''--those same men and women who will visit 
Washington next month--were willing to leave their homes so many years 
ago and travel around the world to fight an enemy that threatened our 
freedom. They did it without complaint and without question. They loved 
their country.
  There is a verse that goes, ``When the night is full of knives, and 
the lightning is seen, and the drums are heard, the patriots are always 
there, ready to fight and ready to die, if necessary, for freedom.''
  The men and women who will travel to Washington next month are 
patriots who answered when duty called. The Honor Flight is an 
expression of our thanks for the sacrifice they made that is too large 
to ever fully repay.

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