[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13785-13786]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today we pay tribute to the American men and 
women who traveled abroad to defend this great Nation but never 
returned home to our shores. We also honor those who have suffered as 
prisoners of war. We are grateful to them every day. Today, which is 
National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we dedicate our remembrance to their 
sacrifice.
  I had the good fortune to be appointed in 1992 by Majority Leader 
Mitchell to be a member of the Select Committee on MIA/POW. The 
committee was chaired by John Kerry, and it was a wonderful experience 
for a number of reasons, not the least of which was to watch Senator 
Kerry because I really, frankly, didn't know him very well. I had been 
in the Senate for a few years, but when you work here, sometimes you 
don't really understand how good people are until you work with them on 
a really close-knit basis, as I did with him because of that 
appointment.
  He did a magnificent job of chairing that committee. Of course, he 
had some standing to look at what went on in Vietnam since he was 
wounded three times and had a number of Silver Stars for his heroism in 
Vietnam. But legislatively that was a great experience for that year, 
to look to see what had happened in Southeast Asia all over, not only 
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, but people who had been taken prisoner of 
war and certainly, if not, were missing in action. It was a good 
experience for me, and I will always remember that. So this day, 
National POW/MIA Recognition Day, recalls those memories of many years 
ago of the hearings we held and the evidence we gathered to make a 
decision as to what really took place there.
  More than 83,000 Americans are missing from World War II, Korea, the 
Cold War, Vietnam, and, of course, the gulf war. There are also 
soldiers, sailors, and marines reported missing from our wars in 
Afghanistan and Iraq that are going on right now. We should not and we 
will not rest until we have accounted for every missing American 
serviceperson who has fought to protect the freedoms we enjoy as 
Americans. Although they are missing, they are not forgotten.
  It is difficult to comprehend the suffering of families who have lost 
loved ones. I am hopeful and somewhat confident that it is a comfort to 
them today to know we give thanks and praise for their dedication to 
the ideals upon which this Nation was founded. That is why today we 
commemorate the sacrifices made by those families as well as the 
soldiers they loved.
  I also give thanks for the brave men and women who wear the uniforms 
of the U.S. armed services today, including more than 2,000 Nevadans 
currently deployed around the world--not in the service but Nevadans 
deployed around the world. Anything worth having, of course, is worth 
defending, and our freedom is one of the most precious.
  So today we thank those volunteers who have placed themselves in 
harm's way to protect this great country. Many of them have paid the 
ultimate price for our liberty. So today and every day they have the 
thanks of a grateful Nation, but especially today, for their faithful 
and selfless service to their country.

[[Page 13786]]

  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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