[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E537-E538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TRIBUTE TO JAMES W. GALLAGHER

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HON. CURT WELDON

of pennsylvania

in the house of representatives

Tuesday, March 7, 1995
Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an
outstanding constituent, James W. Gallagher, for his service to the
Nation and Delaware County, PA.
A resident of Newtown Square, PA, Mr. Gallagher is well known and
highly regarded by many people throughout our community for his
selfless charitable contributions. A graduate of the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Jim has
remained dedicated to his country as an active historian, by preserving
our patriotic history like no other.
Jim is best known throughout the region and the Nation as his alter
ego, ``George Washington.'' As vice-president of the Washington
Crossing Foundation, Jim portrays George Washington as the principal
speaker at the Nationwide Bell Ringing Ceremony sponsored by the
Pennsylvania Society at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Jim portrays
our first President every Christmas in the reenactment of Gen. George
Washington's historic journey during the Revolutionary War. He has
promoted the legacy of George Washington by appearing in many parades
and in our Nation's Capitol in costume.
Jim, like many throughout our great Nation, has worked to overturn
the Supreme Court's decision of 5 years ago that ruled people who burn
American flags are entitled to legal protection under the first
amendment's provisions regarding free speech. As cosponsor of the flag
protection amendment, I am gratified the amendment has been
reintroduced and is gaining wide support among Members.
As a member of the General Society Sons of the Revolution, Jim
published an eloquent and inspirational piece entitled ``Freedom is a
Light for Which Many Men had Died in Darkness.'' I would like to submit
this article for the record so that my colleagues can appreciate Jim's
keen insight. It is my hope that those who read it will be inspired as
I was to reflect upon our rich historic roots.
I have been honored to work with Jim and am pleased to call him a
friend. He deserves our recognition and continued support. I ask the
Members of the House to join me in honoring this outstanding American.
Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Men Have Died in Darkness

(By James W. Gallagher)

Independence Day is a day to remember what transpired here
218 years ago. In July 1776 John Adams wrote a letter to his
wife, Abigail, in Massachusetts. He wanted her to know about
an important vote that he had just cast in Philadelphia as a
member of the Continental Congress. The subject of his letter
was the passage that day of something
[[Page E538]] that we now call the Declaration of
Independence. Adams wrote his wife that a single day in July
1776 would be honored ``as the most memorable day in the
history of America.''
That is a remarkable prediction to make about a nation that
did not even exist then, that first had to free itself from
the control of the world's most powerful country. Other
predictions that Adams wrote to his wife about a special day
in July 1776 were right on target, too. In his letter he
said, ``It will be celebrated by succeeding generations as a
great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with
pomp and parades, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells,
bonfires and illuminations . . . from one end of the
continent to the other . . . from this time forward . . .
forever more.''
John Adams got only one major detail wrong in his amazing
prediction--he had the wrong date.
He wrote his wife that he could foresee those parades and
fireworks happening every year on July Second. That is
because it was on July 2, 1776 that the Continental Congress,
meeting in secret session, actually voted on the Declaration
of Independence. Two days later, on July 4, the delegates to
the Continental Congress signed the Declaration. Also on that
day they came out of their secret session and showed the
world what they had done.
Does that mean we are wrong in celebrating July Fourth?
Should we be having Second of July picnics and Second of July
fireworks? No.
Most legal documents take effect when they are signed and
July Fourth is the day when signatures were put on a draft of
that incredible document written by Thomas Jefferson.
Many historians will tell you it is not because of the
signatures that we use July 4 as the official birthday of our
country. It is because that is the day people first heard
about the Declaration of Independence. In this country the
people count. What is important is the involvement of the
people in managing their own affairs, not governmental bodies
making decisions in secret. For most of human history--and
even in large parts of the world today--that is still a
revolutionary idea.
We should remember every July Fourth that the rights we
often take for granted do not come easily or automatically.
Those rights are re-purchased by each generation, often at a
terrible price.
Nearby we have the graves of some of our Revolutionary War
dead. They know that freedom is not free since they paid with
their very lives. On the tombstone [of the Unknown Soldier in
Washington Square] is the inscription ``Freedom is a Light
for Which Many Men Have Died in Darkness.''
Fifty years ago today the beachhead at Normandy was not
quite a month old. Nearly a million men and women from the
United States, Great Britain and our wartime allies had
landed there. They were beginning to spread out from that
small foothold in northern France and each mile of liberated
Europe demanded a high price in human lives and suffering.
Many terrible struggles were still ahead of the U.S. military
50 years ago today during World War II.
Today our enemies are harder to identify, but they are out
there. Our commitment to the men and women in uniform should
be as strong today as it was 50 years ago. History has taught
us the best way to avoid war is to be better prepared than
any adversary. Vigilance is also the watchword in our
domestic life. Even the best of governments can forget that
government is the servant of the people and that the people
should never be the servant of government.
Just five years ago the Supreme Court ruled that people who
burn American flags are entitled to legal protection under
the First Amendment's provisions safeguarding free speech.
This decision outraged many Americans who see the flag as a
sacred symbol of the country, as a symbol of our values that
ought to be respected and, especially, as a symbol of the
brave sacrifices of our men and women in wartime. We want to
amend the Constitution to allow the states and the federal
government to enact laws prohibiting physical desecration of
the flag. If it is in the Constitution then the courts cannot
rule it unconstitutional.
``Old Glory'' is precious to me. So is the idea that
government should be answerable to the people. We hear more
these days about the search for values in America. Some of us
do not have to look very far to find values. We start with
devotion to God, love of country and respect for the flag.
These are solid foundations upon which this country has been
built and they are foundations upon which we can grow. If we
need to find values, we can start with the values laid down
218 years ago in that remarkable document we honor today, the
Declaration of Independence. It says: ``We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness. That to secure these rights governments are
instituted.''
That is still the best statement of who we are as a people,
what we hold dear and what we will fight to preserve.
God Bless America.

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