[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13455-13456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ``THE LIVING MEMORIAL'' PREPARED REMARKS BY LT. COL. SEAN N. DAY FOR 
                CITY OF SAN JOSE MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 11, 2013

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I had the honor at Oak Hill Cemetery's 
Memorial Day event on May 27th to listen to Lt. Col. Sean Day's speech 
celebrating and honoring the memories of Americans who have died 
defending freedom. I would like to honor his words which are so 
meaningful.

``The Living Memorial'' Prepared Remarks: City of San Jose Memorial Day 
     Observance, Oak Hill Cemetery, San Jose, CA, 1100 27 May 2013

  Lt. Col Sean N. Day, USMCR Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion, 23rd 
                            Marine Regiment

       Mayor Reed, Supervisor Cortese, Congressman Honda, 
     Congresswoman Lofgren, Vice Admiral Zukunft, Major General 
     Regua, other distinguished guests, friends and fellow 
     Americans.
       Thank you for the opportunity to be a small part of your 
     celebration of the lives and sacrifices of our most honored 
     citizens. It is with profound humility that I am speaking 
     with you on this sacred day, on this hour and in this place.
       Now, if you would indulge me for a moment--
       Do we have any veterans from the War in Vietnam in the 
     audience?
       It's with deep appreciation that if you have never heard 
     it, or even if you have been told a thousand times, to the 
     veterans of the War in Vietnam, we are so very proud of you 
     and welcome home.
       Now, I am keenly aware that as the final speaker of the 
     day, I am all that stands between you and cookouts and the 
     first game of the Bay Area brawl between the Giants and the 
     A's. So, in the few minutes that we'll spend together this 
     afternoon I won't talk about the great sales at Valley Fair 
     Mall or the day off so many are enjoying. I won't speak of 
     bands or bugles, or even the stone and marble monuments 
     raised in memory of the sacrifices given by our most honored 
     citizens.
       But instead, my brief comments will center on ``The Living 
     Memorial.''
       In every age, just as during the Vietnam War era, those who 
     are willing to face down shot and shell are few. During the 
     Revolution, only a few answered the call for help that rang 
     out at the Rude Bridge in Concord. Many heard the call, had 
     more pressing priorities and moved on with their lives. A few 
     answered, and some who did  gave the last full measure of 
     devotion to enable the beginning of the Republic that we love 
     so dearly.
       And right down through the years, it has been the same. 
     Many hear, few answer and a portion of those who do, 
     consecrate our nation's highest ideals with their lives. On 
     battlefields long forgotten, or for the mass of our fellow 
     citizens not known or even cared about, this story of self-
     sacrifice, complete devotion and fidelity to the best and 
     highest of ourselves, plays out again, and again and again. 
     The many war veterans in the audience, from World War II 
     right up to the ones of today, can tell you what it is like 
     to hear an unremitting drumbeat demanding sacrifice.
       They can remember in jungle monsoons or savage desert 
     sandstorms, seeing the very best our country can produce step 
     forward. And then watching those same brave brothers in arms, 
     friends and comrades fall to the violence of the cruel enemy. 
     All the while, hearing that same drumbeat, demand more and 
     more sacrifice.
       How many friends have we held as their final breaths 
     slipped away?
       How many times have we seen flag-draped transfer cases 
     placed on aircraft;
       How many times have we stood at memorials in hot, dirty, 
     dusty places;
       And how many times have we been asked by parents and family 
     members what the last days of their loves ones were like.
       Everyone here knows the answer--far too many times.
       So many of our friends are no longer here to teach their 
     sons to throw a baseball, escort their daughters to 
     quinceaneras, or to guide their parents into old age. We, who 
     have born the battle, must give voice to our fallen comrades. 
     They stood for all Americans when it counted most. So, we 
     must stand tall today and everyday--because they cannot.
       As witnesses to the most profound human tragedies, our 
     charge now is to ensure their memories are not forgotten. But 
     even more importantly--that the ideals of the great republic 
     they gave their very lives to protect--live on and are 
     strengthened. It is our sacred obligation to represent those 
     whose lives were so cruelly ended; to be their ``Living 
     Memorial.''
       One of our most distinguished countrymen, Oliver Wendell 
     Holmes, not only served as a Supreme Court Judge for the 
     great state of Maine, and on the Supreme Court of the United 
     States, but he was also a wartime and combat veteran. Serving 
     as an infantryman during the Civil War, Justice Holmes 
     offered a poignant reminder to all of us. . .
       ``We have shared the incommunicable experience of war, we 
     have felt, we still feel, the passion of life to its top. In 
     our youth our hearts were touched with fire.''
       And we stand in constant memory of our fallen brothers.
       It is worth remembering that those brave Americans who fell 
     threw the torch of freedom to those in the next generation, 
     who would take it up and shield it. Each successive 
     generation of patriots serves as a ``Living Memorial'' to 
     those who gave all in the preceding age. And a few in this 
     generation have caught that same torch of freedom.
       When tyranny and terror have attacked the torch and caused 
     its flame to flicker, a few have protected it from the 
     violence of the enemy. They have given their blood and lives 
     to shield it, and in so doing had their own lives 
     extinguished so that the light of liberty would continue to 
     shine.
       They have done so in the ancient Mesopotamian cities of 
     Baghdad, Al Kut and Hillah in Iraq. From Afghanistan's desert 
     plains of the Helmand province to its wispy heights of the 
     Hindu Kush, where air to breathe is hard to come by, but 
     enemy bombs, bullets and attacks are easy to find.
       The honor roll of names who have given the last full 
     measure is not nearly as popular or as well-known as the 
     latest winner of American Idol, the results of the NFL draft 
     or the latest cover story in People magazine. And because of 
     this, it is up to us to carry their lives, loves and memories 
     forward to serve as their ``Living Memorial.''
       For those esteemed fallen patriots are the precious few who 
     were willing to step forward for all of America. The story of 
     their lives and commitment answers the ancient question, 
     ``Who will go for us and who will we send.''
       They answered the question through their actions; stepping 
     forward for all of us.
       The scriptures say, ``A man has no greater love than to lay 
     down his life for his brother.'' What they showed may have 
     been patriotism, may have been devotion, and it certainly was 
     sacrifice--but what we know is that they gave their all, and 
     in so doing, showed all of us today that those who will 
     follow, love in its most basic form. A love for our country, 
     our families--yours and mine, and our way of life; one that 
     exceeded the love they had even for themselves. And as we 
     look out across the years, and think of faraway places, our 
     deep and humble appreciation is with those whose love 
     exceeded all bounds.
       So what to make of this devotion, belief and sacrifice?
       One of our very distinguished Americans, Eleanor Roosevelt, 
     witnessed some of the most significant events in our 
     country's proud history. She carried in her wallet this poem 
     to remind her daily of the sacrifices of our most esteemed 
     citizens and it reads:

       ``Dear Lord,
       Lest I continue
       My complacent way,
       Help me to remember that somewhere,
       Somehow out there
       A man died for me today.
       As long as there be war,
       I then must
       Ask and answer
       Am I worth dying for?''

       Eleanor Roosevelt understood deeply that she was a ``Living 
     Memorial,'' for those who

[[Page 13456]]

     enabled her to do all the wonderful things she did for our 
     great country. She understood the deep debt of gratitude owed 
     to those who ``gave their today to ensure our tomorrow.'' She 
     understood that her life personally, and our nation's way of 
     life, was a ``Living Memorial'' to those who gave all.
       So, I leave you with this. Today is not a day for mourning.
       It is, of course, a remembrance for what has been lost--the 
     finest our country has produced from across the ages. 
     However, this day is more than that, it is a celebration. A 
     celebration of our national heritage, a celebration of the 
     very best our country represents. We ought not lament the 
     loss of our true champions. Instead, cherish the thought that 
     such very fine Americans lived, such fine Americans 
     sacrificed for your family and mine--such American gave all. 
     Our challenge is to ensure that their sacrifices were not in 
     vain.
       Your presence in this place, at this hour indicates that 
     you probably don't need to hear this message. However, many 
     of our countrymen do need to hear it. So as you leave here 
     today, each of you has a mission.
       Carry forth the memory of those who gave all they had to 
     give for the finest ideals of our country and of all 
     humanity.
       Carry forth the memory of our honored dead.
       Remind others that our champions were not victims, but 
     Americans who made our way as a people possible. They carved 
     the path that brought freedom from the yoke of distant 
     tyranny, they served as the guarantors of independence, they 
     made the proclamation of emancipation real. And they ensured 
     that liberty remained a reality rather than a mere idea, a 
     word on a page, or a hope for dream.
       I ask each of you to resolve to live in such a way as to 
     carry on the work of the fallen. To make our great country 
     better each day, and in doing so to serve as ``Living 
     Memorials,'' to our most honored citizens.
       Thank you for taking the time out today to be part of this 
     celebration.
       God Bless America and Semper Fidelis.

       

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