[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10430-10431]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              MEMORIAL DAY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this coming Monday, May 26, the nation sets 
aside a day to honor those brave men and women who died in battle while 
wearing the uniforms of the Nation's Armed Forces. Soldiers, sailors, 
marines, and airmen; officers and enlisted; volunteers and draftees; 
young and old; they were all members of our American family our 
fathers, brothers, sons, mothers, wives, sisters, cousins, neighbors 
and friends. More than 41 million Americans have served their nation 
during a time of war over the course of our history. More than 651,000 
Americans have lost their lives as a result of that service. It is 
likely that somewhere in every family's extended network of relatives, 
neighbors and friends, there is a veteran, perhaps even a veteran whose 
service and sacrifice we honor on Memorial Day.
  Despite the fact that some 200,000 of our fellow citizens are today 
wearing uniforms and serving in hostile theaters far from home, too 
many Americans see Memorial Day weekend only as a long weekend marking 
the end of the school year, the opening of pools, and the beginning of 
summer. We are beguiled by the warm breezes redolent of honeysuckle. We 
are distracted by bright sunshine and outdoor pleasures. We are lulled 
into a sense of security and carelessness, at home in our safe 
neighborhoods with new-mown lawns, cheerful flowerbeds, and shady 
streets. It is easy to forget that in distant places, men in dusty 
uniforms patrol dangerous streets mined with improvised explosive 
devices.
  If you take a moment to look more closely, however, you may notice 
the flags flying from front porches along those shady streets. You 
might notice other flags, smaller flags, planted in front of marble 
markers throughout cemeteries around your town, each marking the grave 
of a veteran. You may notice families visiting gravesites in a ritual 
as old as war itself, laying

[[Page 10431]]

down flowers to remember and honor those whose lives were lost too 
soon, too violently, too far away from home and family, in pursuit of 
causes larger than themselves. They are gone, but not forgotten by 
those who knew and loved them best.
  War is a terrible tool of nations, and its use exacts a high price in 
both blood and treasure. On Memorial Day, the nation honors those who 
have paid this price with great courage and even greater sacrifice. It 
is important to remember the lives of those who were lost, lest we come 
to think that war is ever easy, or quick, or certain in its course. We 
do well to remember the words of Sir Winston Churchill, 1874-1965: 
``Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that 
anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and 
hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever 
must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master 
of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.''
  The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have meant that many of the 
gravesites being visited this Memorial Day, more than 4,000 of them, 
are raw and new. Many of the families visiting those graves bring young 
children with them, children who have lost a father or mother. They 
know that their parent died a hero. But that knowledge does not make 
the day-to-day tasks of school, homework, sports practices, or learning 
life skills from their parents any easier for these children. It does 
not make it any easier for the parent left behind to shoulder a life's 
work that they thought would be shared with their partner. As a nation, 
we should not give them any reason to worry that their family member's 
sacrifice will ever be dismissed or overlooked.
  Ours is a fortunate nation, blessed with a rich and bounteous land. 
It is populated by hard-working, creative, inventive, people who are 
generous and compassionate. And, it is governed by the best form of 
government ever devised by man. The tangible symbols of that government 
are the documents of our government the Declaration of Independence and 
our Constitution that set forth the ideals by which we live and 
operate. As a Nation, we do not always live up perfectly to those 
ideals in practice, but we are again fortunate that the system is self-
correcting, with the people ultimately in control. None of these 
fortuitous circumstances could persist, however, without the bravery, 
valor, and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform who defend our 
Nation and preserve our Constitution. To them, we owe eternal 
gratitude. Their willingness to answer the call to battle, and to fight 
so valiantly and so well in so many conflicts over the years, has kept 
the Nation strong.
  Whether they died at Concord, Gettysburg, in Flanders Fields, 
Vietnam, or in Iraq and Afghanistan; whether their graves date from 
this century or those that came before, on this last Monday in May, I 
hope that Senators and all Americans will set aside a few quiet moments 
to remember, and honor, the men and women who have lost their lives in 
the service of the Nation. In those quiet moments, I also hope that the 
Nation will say a prayer for the families they left behind.
  I close with a few stanzas from a poem by Theodore O'Hara, entitled, 
``The Bivouac of the Dead.''

                        The Bivouac of the Dead

     The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
     The soldier's last tattoo!
     No more on life's parade shall meet
     The brave and fallen few.

     On Fame's eternal camping ground
     Their silent tents are spread,
     And glory guards with solemn round
     The bivouac of the dead.

     Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead,
     Dear is the blood you gave--
     No impious footstep here shall tread
     The herbage of your grave.

     Nor shall your glory be forgot
     While Fame her record keeps,
     Or honor points the hallowed spot
     Where valor proudly sleeps.

     Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
     In deathless song shall tell,
     When many a vanquished year hath flown,
     The story how you fell.

     Nor wreck nor change, nor winter's blight,
     Nor time's remorseless doom,
     Can dim one ray of holy light
     That gilds your glorious tomb.

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, Memorial Day is a day of reflection. It 
is a day reserved for remembering those who have given their lives in 
service to our country. While we may choose to remember these 
individuals in different ways, each American has a responsibility to 
recognize the contribution of those who have paid the ultimate 
sacrifice to defend the values upon which this Nation was built.
  Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet with a number of 
the men and women serving in our military, many of whom I am proud to 
say are fellow Utahns. I am always very humbled by this experience. The 
courage and dedication of these individuals offers much to emulate.
  I recognize the sacrifice of the countless men and women who over the 
decades have selflessly given their lives to uphold freedom and defend 
the many values we hold dear. Each of these individuals not only gave 
of their own life but left forever altered the life of a mother, 
father, husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister. Those loved 
ones who are left behind are owed our respect and support. We must 
continue to work to ensure the fallen are remembered and those they 
leave behind are not forgotten.
  In this time of war, my thoughts and prayers are with all who serve 
this Nation and with those families who have made the ultimate 
sacrifice. I am deeply grateful for this service. Please let us not 
forget the courage and selflessness of these individuals--to them we 
owe a debt beyond our means to repay. This Nation shall forever stand 
grateful and proud of each man and woman who has willingly accepted the 
call to defend our freedoms and provide for our safety at home.

                          ____________________