E 974 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 9, 1995

This legislation would broaden the existing

provisions of the Tax Code regarding livestock, adding flooding and other weather-related conditions to drought as conditions allowing

the use of the special rules relating to proceeds from livestock sales. It would also result

in more equitable treatment of crops and livestock relative to tax payments after disasters.

However, it would not reduce the total amount

of taxes paid by livestock producers who suffer disasters, but instead would merely delay

the payment of taxes under these circumstances.

Mr. Speaker, I am certain that you and the

rest of my colleagues would agree that it is

unfair to deny the disaster-related provisions

of the Tax Code to livestock producers just

because the disaster involved is a flood and

not a drought. I ask you to join me in making

this commonsense change to the Federal Tax

Code, and provide some needed assistance to

our Nation’s livestock producers.

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF V–E

fDAY

HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, celebrations are

being held this week throughout our Nation

and across the European continent to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of

World War II in Europe. In London on Sunday,

in Paris yesterday, and in Moscow today, millions of Europeans have gathered to give

prayerful thanks for the hand-won peace

which encompassed to continent 50 years ago

this week.

Although we Americans, as far as casualties

go, got off light compared to our European allies. In fact all nations involved in World War

II suffered and suffered greatly. By crossing

the oceans to assist in the overthrow of the

Nazi and Fascist empires, American soldiers,

sailors, airman and marines not only disrupted

and risked their own lives, they also disrupted

the lives of the loved ones they left behind.

The massive task of supporting our brave

Americans necessitated a radical readjustment

of our economy here at home. Automobiles

and most household appliances were simply

not available. You could not buy tire because

rubber was one of the many, many commodities essential to the war effort.

While World War II was in progress, the Soviet government, led by Joseph Stalin, demanded that the Americans and British invade

the coast of France in order to take the pressure off the Russian army, which was bearing

the brunt of the battle against the Nazis. There

was also intense pressure here at home to get

the job done with and invade France.

Fortunately, our national leaders had a great

deal of experience with warfare in France.

During World War I, President Franklin D.

Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the U.S.

Navy, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill

was First Lord of the Admiralty, which is the

direct equivalent of Secretary of the Navy.

They both knew from sad experience, that a

land war in the north of France, with both

sides equal, would result in bloody trench warfare. During the 4 years of World War I, literally millions of young men—on both sides—

sacrificed their lives in futile, pointless efforts

to recapture a few feet of ground. It has been

said that Britain scarified entire generations of

young men in the trenches of World War I.

even though the refusal of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to replay

that tragedy in many ways led to the distrust

and bitter feelings between the Russian government and our own for the past 50 years,

we should all be thankful that both Roosevelt

and Churchill—along with Supreme Allied

Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower—refused

to initiate any invasion of France until we were

assured of massive superiority in forces and

materiel.

Their patience paid off handsomely: less

than 11 months after D-Day—a day that many

observers predicted would not succeed—we

had not only successfully invaded the coast of

France, but we had totally conquered the

Third Reich of Adolf Hitler. We, together with

our Russian allies advancing from the east,

brought to an end that evil nation which Hitler

predicted would ‘‘last a thousand years’’ but in

reality existed slightly more than a dozen.

A new book by David Fromkin, In The Time

of the Americans, underscores the extent of

the revolutionary changes World War II

brought to the United States. In 1941, there

was a sincere and heated debate in this nation about whether or not we should involve

ourselves in what were called foreign wars. In

1945, our membership and leadership in the

United Nations were taken for granted.

In 1941, it was almost universally believed

that the oceans could protect us against any

hostile forces and that thus there was no reason for us to become involved in the affairs of

Europe. By 1945, there was no question we

were the leaders of the free world. As soon as

1946 and 1947, we Americans were prepared

to send assistance to protect freedom and liberty first in Greece and Turkey and then in

Western Europe. By 1950, we recognized our

responsibility to repel aggression on the Korean peninsula.

In 1941, Americans were in many ways a

prejudiced society. Most of our south was

deeply segregated and many public accommodations refused service to Jews. The Ku

Klux Klan had a following.

By the time the war ended, Americans of all

races, creeds and colors fought side by side

and thus learned that far more binds us together than separates us. There was a long

path to travel yet, but the first steps were

taken on the road to racial equality.

The newsreel cameras and the magazine

photos showed American troops liberating the

concentration camps of Germany, thus sending us all a message of what racial, ethnic or

religious bigotry can lead to. Anyone who lived

through the Holocaust can not help but vow

that nothing like this will ever happen again.

Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday I was deeply

honored to have been able to participate in

ceremonies at Camp Shanks Museum in

Orangeburg, NY. Camp Shanks was the major

east coast point of embarkation during World

War II, and it was fitting that ceremonies commemorating the end of the war be conducted

there. ‘‘Ruptured Duck’’ awards were presented to nearly 150 survivors of World War II,

and an array of local officials shared their

views on World War II with us.

The ceremonies were held under the guidance of Jerry Donnellan, who as Director of

the Veterans Service Agency of Rockland

County, NY, has earned a reputation as one

of the more compassionate and qualified

friends of all our veterans.

In my remarks on this solemn occasion, I

reminded my fellow World War II veterans of

the importance of our passing on to future

generations the reasons the war was fought

and what we experienced on the battlefields of

Europe and the Pacific. I warned that we must

not allow our revisionist historians to alter the

truths of World War II.

Mr. Speaker, let us pause during our busy

schedule to reflect on the monumental

changes which took place 50 years ago this

week, when the guns and the bombs fell silent

in Europe, and let us also pause to remember

those who did not return and all those W.W.

II Veterans who are still lingering in Veterans

Hospitals across our land.

WHAT THE FLAG MEANS TO ME

fHON. SAM FARR OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, as we honor the

brave young men and women who gave so

much of themselves in the Second World War,

I thought it an opportune moment to reflect on

the meaning of patriotism with the words of a

special young man from my congressional district.

Josh Pritchard, a 5th grade student at

Capitola Elementary School, placed first

among all students for the following essay on

the meaning of the American flag:

WHAT THE FLAG MEANS TO ME

(By Josh Pritchard)

To me, the American flag represents a

dream, a great dream. A dream that someday

America will be a place where everyone is

treated equally, and no one is judged by

their creed or religion.

When Betsy Ross made the American flag,

she meant it to represent America and freedom. Around the time when Betsy Ross made

the flag, everyone wanted America to someday be a place where everyone is treated

equally, and no one is judged by their creed

or religion. That wasn’t true back then and

it’s still not true now. In the last 219 years,

we’ve come a lot closer to the dream, but

we’re still not there.

To me, the flag is something to be proud

of. The flag is what reminds me that someday America is going to be an even greater

place.

The flag represents a place where there is

no one creed but a place where all creeds join

together as one. A place where it doesn’t

matter what religion you are, what color

hair you have, or what kind of clothes you

wear—as long as you are you.

That’s the end of my essay but the dream

still stands. Maybe in the next 100 years, the

dream will come true.

A TRIBUTE TO MAX M

fCCARTHY

HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 9, 1995

Mr. LAFALCE. Mr. Speaker, it was with

deep regret and sadness that we learned over

the weekend of the passing of Richard ‘‘Max’’