[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13288-13289]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE SUMMIT PROJECT

  Mr. KING. Madam President, I wish to commend the Summit Project and 
its leader Maj. David Cote for their meaningful effort to sustain and 
honor the memories of Maine's veterans who have fallen since September 
11, 2001. Founded on Memorial Day, 2013, the Summit Project aims to 
carry stone memorials representing each of those heroes up mountains in 
Maine beginning on Memorial Day, 2014, and continuing annually. This 
thoughtful endeavor is already helping Gold Star families heal and will 
undoubtedly preserve the memory of their loved ones as the years pass.
  Maine servicemembers and their families have made monumental 
sacrifices during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. To date, 68 
Mainers or members of the Armed Forces with ties to Maine have made the 
ultimate sacrifice during the wars in those countries. I am profoundly 
grateful for the service of these brave Americans and for the service 
of their fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who continue to 
protect our freedom on battlefields far from home.
  Preserving a living memory of our fallen heroes is especially 
important in my home State of Maine. As Major Cote writes on the Summit 
Project's Web site, ``Mainers are veterans. Maine's patriotism and 
commitment to service in our Armed Forces is nothing short of 
extraordinary.''
  The Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 130,196 veterans live 
in our State, which means that nearly one in every ten Mainers is a 
veteran. These distinguished citizens, their families, and their 
friends know that, to paraphrase the words of President Kennedy, ``A 
nation reveals itself not only by the men and women that it produces, 
but also by the men and women it honors,

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the men and women it remembers.'' The Summit Project reveals the 
character of Maine: a character notable for its integrity, service to 
others, honor, and loyalty.

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