[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16182]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD AT THE DISABLED VETERANS REST 
                 CAMP, MARINE ON SAINT CROIX, MINNESOTA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHELE BACHMANN

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 24, 2009

  Mrs. BACHMANN. Madam Speaker, those who return home after serving our 
Nation, often changed and scarred by their experiences, deserve special 
recognition and honor. The Disabled Veterans Rest Camp at Marine on St. 
Croix provides a sanctuary and gathering place for veterans and their 
families to connect and heal with one another. I rise today, Madame 
Speaker, to honor the members of the Minnesota National Guard who have 
spent the past weeks helping to restore the Disabled Veterans Rest Camp 
so military families from across the Nation can continue to enjoy its 
tranquility.
  For the last several weeks, the Guard has volunteered their time and 
engineering expertise as part of their training to restore buildings, 
update facilities and address the needs that come with a nearly 
century-old campsite. I applaud these Guardsmen and women for giving 
back to their fellow uniformed service members. I also want to thank 
our Croatian allies that are sharing in this joint deployment with the 
Minnesota Guard. We are very grateful that they are able and willing to 
help our American veterans.
  The site started as a camp for World War I disabled veterans in 1926 
and has seen expansion and contraction over the years. I first became 
familiar with it as a State Senator when it faced potential demise in 
2005--a fate I was proud to have had at least a small hand in 
defeating. Maintaining this camp--which has a treasured place in my 
heart, as do the veterans it serves--as a place for disabled veterans 
to call their own is one of my proudest moments in my public service 
career.
  A board of representatives from veterans' organizations runs the site 
and is actively involved in preserving the purpose of the camp. Madam 
Speaker, I rise today to honor the Minnesota Guard for paying it 
forward to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our 
country. The tireless hours they have given at the Veterans Rest Camp 
are just one representation of our duty to our veterans--to serve them 
with gratitude and respect. We should all take these citizen-soldiers' 
example to heart each day, as we live in a free and prosperous land and 
owe it all to our veterans.

                          ____________________