[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15655]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 WELCOMING AND HONORING THE EASTERN IOWA HONOR FLIGHT AND IOWA'S WWII 
                                VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID LOEBSACK

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 14, 2011

  Mr. LOEBSACK. Mr. Speaker, next week, 90 Iowa veterans of the 
Greatest Generation will travel to our nation's capital. Accompanied by 
volunteer guardians, these veterans will travel to Washington, DC, to 
visit the monument that was built in their honor.
  For many of these veterans, next Tuesday, October 18th, will be the 
first time they will see the National World War II Memorial. I am 
deeply honored to have been invited to welcome them back to Iowa at the 
end of their journey, and I am very much looking forward to the 
opportunity to hear about their experience seeing their memorial for 
the first time and to having the opportunity to personally thank these 
heroes.
  Sadly, however, 17 of Iowa's heroes who were planning to travel with 
their fellow veterans to Washington, DC, passed away before they were 
able to embark on their trip. My wife Terry and I join all Iowans in 
mourning their loss and in extending our deepest sympathies to their 
families.
  I am proud to have a piece of marble from the quarry that supplied 
the marble that built the World War II Memorial in my office. Like the 
memorial that it built, that piece of marble reminds me of the 
sacrifices of a generation of Americans. When our country was 
threatened, they rose to defend not just our nation, but the freedoms, 
democracy, and values that make our country the greatest nation on 
earth. They did so as one people and one country. Their sacrifices and 
determination in the face of great threats to our way of life are both 
humbling and inspiring.
  The sheer magnitude of what the Greatest Generation accomplished, not 
just in war but in the peace that followed, continues to inspire us 
today. They did not seek to be tested both abroad by a war that 
fundamentally challenged our way of life and at home by the Great 
Depression and the rebuilding of our economy that followed. But, when 
called upon to do so, they defended and then rebuilt our nation to make 
it even stronger. Their patriotism, service, and great sacrifice not 
only defined their generation--they stand as a testament to the 
fortitude of our nation and the American people.
  I am tremendously proud to provide an early welcome to the Eastern 
Iowa Honor Flight and Iowa's veterans of the Second World War to our 
nation's capital next week. On behalf of every Iowan I represent, I 
thank them for their service to our country.

                          ____________________