[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18242-18243]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONOR FLIGHT HONORS OUR WORLD WAR II VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is a special day. The 
story begins several years ago. In 2004, just a few days before its 
dedication, I put on my tennis shoes and walked outside the U.S. 
Capitol Building and beyond the Washington Monument to the newly 
constructed World War II Memorial on the National Mall. As we know, it 
was inspiring. At long last, nearly 60 years after the war ended, 
veterans who did so much to protect our country and liberate the world, 
were to receive recognition for their service, their sacrifice and the 
victory through a national monument.
  I had my cell phone with me, and I stepped away from the memorial and 
I called my 90-year-old father back in our hometown of Plainville. He 
is one of the thousands of Americans who left their families and lives 
behind in World War II to fight for our country. My father fought in 
Northern Africa and Sicily and Italy.
  Fortunately, when I called, I got the answering machine. It's often 
difficult for sons and daughters to tell their fathers the things we 
should tell them. The message I left my dad was, ``Dad, I love you. 
Dad, I'm proud of you, and Dad, thank you for your service to our 
country.'' I told my dad what I should have said a long time ago, and 
what we all should say to our veterans.
  It was too bad that many of the veterans of this greatest generation, 
now in their 80s and 90s, are unable, physically or financially, to 
visit our Nation's Capitol and see this beautiful tribute to their 
service and sacrifice and to hear those important words.

[[Page 18243]]

  Earlier this year, Senator Bob Dole, himself a World War II veteran 
who led the charge to build the memorial, told me about a grassroots, 
not-for-profit organization called Honor Flight. Honor Flight enables 
World War II veterans to travel to our Nation's Capital to see the 
memorial created in their honor. Staffed by volunteers and funded by 
donations, Honor Flight used commercial and chartered flights to send 
veterans on a one-day, expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

                              {time}  1930

  Earl Morse of Ohio and Jeff Miller of North Carolina created the 
Honor Flight Network, which now operates in 30 States.
  Over the past months I have joined Senator Dole to greet Kansas 
veterans arriving at the World War II Memorial by means of Honor 
Flight. It is a very moving experience as veterans recount tales of 
their time in the service to volunteers who are often local high school 
students. Tourists stop their sightseeing to shake the veterans' hands, 
and you see the excitement of the veterans' eyes, and many are moved to 
tears. It's a special day for that generation of heroes.
  Of the 16 million veterans who served in World War II, only 2.5 
million are alive today. And we are losing them at a rate of 900 each 
day. Honor Flight is working against time to say ``thank you'' to these 
veterans.
  Tomorrow, after months of preparation and fundraising by volunteers, 
an Honor Flight of World War II veterans from Plainville to Stockton, 
from Hays, Hill City, Ness City, and a lot of other small towns of 
northwest Kansas will be arriving in Washington, D.C. On that flight 
will be my father, my dad, and 101 of his fellow Kansas veterans will 
finally see firsthand the World War II Memorial and experience our 
Nation's gratitude for their service.
  Tonight I want to thank the Honor Flight Network and the thousands of 
volunteers and donors across the country who make these moving 
experiences possible. In particular, I thank Pat Hageman of Natoma for 
organizing tomorrow's Honor Flight, the students from Rooks County high 
schools who are serving as volunteers, the medical personnel, and 
especially the local businesses, individuals, and veterans service 
organizations in northwest Kansas who have financed this Honor Flight.
  I doubt my dad or any of the other men and women who will be in 
Washington, D.C., tomorrow will be able to sleep when they go to bed 
tonight in the small towns across Kansas. They will lay wide awake with 
nervous anticipation and excitement. But though they lay awake tonight, 
the rest of America has been able to sleep because of the sacrifice of 
the World War II veterans.
  Tomorrow, once again we all can say that these men and women of our 
country and our country's other World War II veterans, ``We love you; 
we are proud of you, and we thank you for your service to our 
country.''

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