May 21, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 96 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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Observing Memorial Day (Executive Session); Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 96
(Senate - May 21, 2020)
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[Pages S2576-S2577] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Observing Memorial Day Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, on Monday, our country will celebrate Memorial Day. It is a very special day--one that we, as Americans, set aside each year to honor those members of the military who have given their lives in sacrifice to their country. Right now, this is typically the time when I am getting ready to travel home and go to Southern Oregon--to Eagle Point and to Central Point, wonderful communities to spend Memorial Day with hundreds of veterans and members of their families. These are events that take place each year and are inspiring and affirming and basically a time when Oregonians, from very young to often approaching almost 100 years old, assemble and are part of a centuries-long lineage of patriots who have been willing to serve and sacrifice for our great Nation. There are other communities that come together to remember lost friends and loved ones, but at home in Oregon, we have always said: Eagle Point and Central Point are the gold standard in terms of services and programs to recognize our veterans, and members of their family, who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation. I think we all know that this Memorial Day is going to be different. There will not be the same big gatherings, and there will not be as many parades. But one of the reasons I want to come to the floor of the Senate today--and I will be home this weekend thinking about Eagle Point and Central Point--is I want to make sure our country never ever diminishes the significance of this day. Never should our country take away our determination to honor those who pay the ultimate price in service to America, and it shouldn't cause us to forget that Memorial Day can be hard--very, very hard on the parents and spouses and children and friends our fallen heroes left behind. I know when I am recognized to speak in Central Point and in Eagle Point, I look out in the crowd, and I always see family members with a Kleenex by their eye, trying to remember and at the same time deal with the inevitable grief. This Memorial Day, I am going to be thinking of all of those who have come year after year to Central Point and Eagle Point in Southern Oregon to do something very, very important: to speak up for Oregon on the importance and appreciation we have for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. My view is, this year, on Memorial Day, it is more important than ever to reach out and connect with those folks who are remembering loved ones they have lost in the line of duty--to give them a call, ask how they are holding up--because the last few months, in particular, have been tough on everybody, and their sacrifice shouldn't be forgotten. I know when I am home in Southeast Portland this weekend, I am going to be thinking about whom I am going to be talking to, checking in with, and see how they are doing just for the reason I mentioned. These have been tough times for everyone, and I think this is going to be a very difficult Memorial Day for those Americans who are remembering loved ones they have lost in the line of duty. It is also more important than ever to remember for ourselves that as Americans, we owe so much to so many. The parades and the services may have to wait until Memorial Day 2021, but our deep respect and gratitude for sacrifice does not. Just on a very personal note, apropos of the respect and gratitude for sacrifice, I think about my late father and my mother, both of whom fled the Nazis. Not all of our family got out. My great Uncle Max was one of the last who was gassed in Auschwitz. My father basically talked his way into our Army because he was a fluent young man in German, and he convinced our military that he could be part of our propaganda unit to drop the pamphlets on the Nazis, making it clear that they could never defeat our great troops. My mother, on the other hand, was a WAC, and I look often at the picture that is on my wall of my mother in her WAC uniform. For them, during their lives, Memorial Day was a really special day because they were so thrilled to be able to come to the freest and most open Nation on Earth and to be able to serve in our military. They, in [[Page S2577]] particular, would say, if they were here today: Ron, this is a special day for showing our deep respect and gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and we are never going to miss a Memorial Day without expressing that sentiment. I am going to be, this weekend, thinking about how much I want to be back in Eagle Point and Central Point to celebrate Memorial Day, and I am going to be thinking about how now we have to find a way to honor and remember our fallen servicemembers a little bit differently than before. I would close--and perhaps I am the last speaker today in the Senate. I think I can speak for every Member of the Senate that this is especially important now to keep in our hearts all of those who have died serving our country, and let's do right by their families who are still with us. I close my remarks by wishing all Oregonians and Americans from sea to shining sea a healthy Memorial Day. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Scott of Florida). Without objection, it is so ordered.
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