[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17140]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               LAKELAND WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL DEDICATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DENNIS A. ROSS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 4, 2014

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call my colleagues' attention 
to a very special dedication ceremony taking place in my home town of 
Lakeland, Florida.
  The World War II Memorial Plaza at Veterans Park will be dedicated 
this Sunday, on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 
7, 1941. It is fitting that the first portion of the memorial to be 
placed will honor the casualties of Pearl Harbor.
  Mr. Speaker, December 7, 1941, is still a day that lives in infamy. 
The War in the Pacific was a hard-fought, slow, and deadly campaign 
that tested the very resolve of the American military. And yet, through 
the valor and heroism of our service men and women, we were victorious.
  My own father served in the Navy in the Pacific theater, and the 
stories he told me growing up made me appreciate not only his 
patriotism and courage, but that of his brothers in arms. I am thankful 
that these brave heroes will be honored in Lakeland this weekend for 
their courage and sacrifice during one of the most important military 
campaigns in our nation's history, and with that, I yield back.

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