[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13640-13642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF WORLD WAR II

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, on August 14, 1945, World War II came to 
an end. The official ceremony aboard the battleship USS Missouri 2 
weeks later was brief, barely 18 minutes long. The low-key nature of 
the event stood in stark contrast to the unprecedented horror and 
violence of the preceding years, years in which the fate of 
civilization itself hung in the balance. I rise

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today to express our Nation's gratitude to all veterans of the Army, 
Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine for their 
service and sacrifice seven decades ago.
  It is said that crisis builds character. For an entire generation of 
Americans, crisis did not build character; it revealed it. With the 
perfect hindsight history books provide, the Second World War can seem 
today to be a series of events that followed an inevitable course from 
Pearl Harbor to Normandy to Iwo Jima to the deck of the Battleship 
Missouri. Yet those who were there, those who made that history, know 
that the outcome was far from certain. All that stood between humanity 
and the abyss of tyranny was their courage, their faith, and their 
devotion to duty.
  As the war began, the United States was not a rich or powerful 
country. We had only the 17th largest army in the world. Our industries 
were still struggling to overcome a decade of economic depression. With 
two great oceans as a buffer, many Americans thought the answer to 
aggression was isolationism.
  Yet when the crisis came, Americans responded. More than 16 million 
American men put on the uniforms of our Armed Forces. More than 400,000 
died wearing those uniforms. Thousands of American women also put on 
the uniform, serving--and dying--in field hospitals and in such 
dangerous work as ferrying aircraft from production plant to airfield. 
They rolled up their sleeves and turned the factories of a peacetime 
economy into the arsenal of democracy. Throughout the country, 
Americans of all ages worked and saved and rationed and sacrificed as 
never before. Families planted victory gardens--20 million of them, 
producing 40 percent of the Nation's vegetables in backyards and on 
rooftops. Two out of every three citizens put money into war bonds.
  The people of Maine were part of this great endeavor. Some 80,000 
Mainers served in World War II, more than any previous war. More than 
2,500 laid their lives upon the altar of freedom.
  I have had the honor of meeting many of Maine's heroes. Edward 
Dahlgren of Perham--just a few miles from my hometown of Caribou--
fought his way through Italy, France, and Germany, and received the 
Medal of Honor for his astonishing rescue of a trapped American 
platoon. Charles Shay, a member of the Penobscot Nation, was among the 
first wave ashore at Omaha Beach and the first Native American to be 
awarded the Legion of Honor Medal, France's highest tribute. Bert 
Skinner of Belfast answered the call for volunteers for the extremely 
dangerous mission of serving behind enemy lines with Merrill's 
Marauders in Burma. Through his uncommon service to his community and 
to his fellow veterans, Galen Cole of Bangor has kept the promise he 
made to himself on a battlefield in Germany in early 1945.
  Maine women served with distinction. Patricia Chadwick Ericson of 
Houlton stepped forward to serve as a Women's Airforce Service Pilot, 
or WASP, flying newly built aircraft from the factories to combat 
zones. Mary Therese Nelson of Indian Island was the first Native 
American woman from Maine to enlist in the Marine Corps. Each of the 
stories of the men and women from Maine are unique. Yet they are united 
by valor and devotion to duty.
  On the homefront, Maine was on the frontlines. Eighty-two destroyers 
were built at Bath Iron Works during the war, more than the entire 
Japanese output. The South Portland shipyard launched 274 Liberty ships 
that carried troops and arms overseas. More than 70 submarines were 
built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, with 3 of those 
vital warships launched on the same day.
  Maine's seafaring heritage contributed greatly to the Merchant 
Marine, and at least 60 Mainers lost their lives to enemy attack. The 
Coast Guard and the Civil Air Patrol protected our shores against Nazi 
U-boats and saboteurs.
  These men and women did not come from a society steeped in militarism 
and the lust for conquest. Whether they came from our cities, farms or 
fishing villages of Maine, they came from places that desired peace and 
that cherished freedom. When the crisis came, the American character 
bound the ``greatest generation'' together in a great common cause on 
behalf of humanity.
  I am fortunate to be a daughter of that generation. One of my 
earliest childhood memories is going with my father to the Memorial Day 
parade in our hometown. He hoisted me high above his head and from the 
best vantage point along the route--my father's shoulders--I saw hats 
go off and hands go over hearts as Caribou paid its respects to our 
flag and honored our veterans. Some Memorial Days, my father would wear 
his Army jacket to the parade. As a child, I thought it was just an old 
jacket. Only as an adult did I learn the price he had paid for it.
  Donald Collins enlisted in the Reserve Corps as a college freshman in 
November of 1943 and was called to Active Duty in the U.S. Army before 
the year's end. He saw action in the European theater and fought at the 
Battle of the Bulge. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge, two Purple 
Hearts, and the Bronze Star. Sergeant Collins was discharged in January 
of 1946.
  Then he did what truly distinguishes the men and women of America's 
Armed Forces. He came home, gratefully and modestly. He never talked 
much about his sacrifice and the hardships of war. Instead, he worked 
hard raising six children, running a business, serving as Scout leader, 
Rotarian, mayor, and State senator.
  From the strong shoulders of those like him who defended our freedom, 
all Americans learn about commitment, service, and patriotism. We learn 
that the burden of service must be borne willingly. We learn that 
challenges must be met and threats must be confronted. We learn that 
the mantle of hero must be worn with humility. It is because of the 
quiet courage of those who serve our country that we take those lessons 
to heart and resolve to pass them on to the generations to come. On 
this 70th anniversary of victory in World War II, let us recommit 
ourselves to the spirit that guided our Nation through its darkest days 
and that lights our way into the future.
  Mr. KING. Mr. President, this month, 70 years ago, the greatest 
crisis of the 20th century came to an end. Lasting 6 full years and 
involving participants from over 30 countries, World War II was the 
most widespread and devastating war in human history. America's 
isolation from this dreadful conflict abruptly ended when, on the 
morning of December 7, 1941, our Nation came under sudden and 
deliberate attack. In less than 2 hours, thousands of lives were lost 
as bombs fell across the island of Oahu and that quiet Sunday morning 
quickly turned into a terrible scene of violence and horror.
  But the attacks on Pearl Harbor did not break the American spirit. In 
this darkest of moments, our country discovered a renewed sense of 
strength, courage and resiliency; qualities that define us. And, 
following the attack on Pearl Harbor, American forces joined the Allied 
Powers, fighting side-by-side against Nazi oppression in Europe and 
Japanese expansion in the Pacific. Sixteen million Americans bravely 
served in these two theaters of conflict, and it was through their 
patriotism and courage that freedom was able to triumph over tyranny.
  I also want to recognize Maine's important role in the war effort. In 
northern Maine, Army airfields in Bangor, Presque Isle, and Houlton 
provided strategic air basing and training sites which facilitated the 
deployment of personnel and equipment overseas to the frontlines. And 
along the coast, where the Kennebec River meets the sea, Bath Iron 
Works established its reputation for producing the ``best-built'' 
destroyers in the world. The shipyard delivered a total of 83 new ships 
to the U.S. Navy--hitting a 2-year peak production of 21 ships a year 
or an average of 1 destroyer every 17 days. Bath-built ships survived 
the attack on Pearl Harbor, landed troops at Normandy, supported 
Marines at Iwo Jima, and sank Nazi U-boats in the Atlantic. Maine's 
support to our Armed Forces during the war years was unparalleled in 
terms of dedication, scope, and impact.
  And, above all else, we must honor the immeasurable contributions of 
our

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servicemembers. As a State with one of the highest percentages of 
veterans per capita in the Nation, the war's legacy resonates strongly 
in Maine. During World War II, nearly 80,000 Maine citizens served 
overseas. Their steadfast perseverance, patriotism, and bravery in the 
face of grave danger helped secure a better future for generations to 
come.
  On this 70th anniversary of World War II, we remember all the 
American and Allied servicemembers who bravely served on land, air, and 
sea; as well as those on the homefront providing for our warfighters. 
Their service and sacrifices contributed to international peace and 
stability and ensured the continued promise of the freedoms we enjoy 
today.

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