S6240 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 8, 1995

changes. We also have the duty to hold accountable those who break the law in an effort to attack our system.

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today

VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY

fwe are commemorating one of the

proudest days in our history—Victory

in Europe Day. World War II was no

less than a triumph of good over evil.

As President Harry Truman said, it

was ‘‘a solemn and glorious hour.’’

Today we celebrate our victory over

the Nazis—and we honor those who

gave their lives in the most deadly conflict we have ever seen.

But most of all, we honor the Americans whose personal sacrifices gave us

our greatest victory. In Maryland,

thousands left factories, shops, and

farms to fight on the front lines. People like my uncles Pete, Fred, Richard,

and Florene. We also honor those on

the homefront who kept the steel mills

and shipyards going 24 hours a day to

serve the war effort. That includes the

women—the Rosie the Riveters who

kept America going while our boys

fought on the battlefields.

Eleanor Roosevelt said that those

days were no ordinary time and that no

ordinary solutions would be sufficient

to defeat the enemies of America and

Western civilization. No only was this

no ordinary time, this was no ordinary

generation.

I was a child during the War. I grew

up seeing the heroism and patriotism

of our soldiers—and seeing America

united behind a common goal. I saw

the sacrifices that individuals were

willing to make for our country. That

was the only America I knew.

Our veterans of World War II are

each a symbol of the principles that

have kept this country strong and free.

When we think of our veterans, we

think of everything that is good about

this country—patriotism, courage, loyalty, duty and honor. Our responsibility is to live up to the standards they

have set—to foster a new sense of citizenship and a new sense of duty.

That is why it troubles me that too

often, young Americans do not learn

enough about this special generation.

It is our responsibility to honor our

Nation’s veterans—not just on V–E

Day—but every day. Let us honor them

in our homes, our schools, our churches, and our synagogues. And here in the

U.S. Senate—when we set funding for

veterans health care and pensions.

Every day that we live in freedom,

we should remember that their triumph was democracy’s greatest victory.

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF

VICTORY IN EUROPE

fMr. DODD. Mr. President, today

marks the anniversary of one of the

most important moments in modern

Western history. Fifty years ago today,

the Allied Powers accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany,

ending the most devastating war in

world history. It was a great victory

for freedom and for civilization.

The Allied victory was one of courage, valor and enormous sacrifice. Of

the hundreds of major battles fought

during the war, 15 resulted in casualties numbering no less than 5,000. From

the beaches at Omaha to the great

campaigns in Europe, American lives

were sacrificed in the name of freedom.

The victory in Europe marked the

end of unparalleled human horror and

of catastrophic human loss on that

continent. It signified the end of one of

civilization’s darkest moments. In essence, V–E Day marked the very rebirth of life in Europe’s scarred, and

war-torn landscape. But that rebirth

did not come without a price.

We must never forget the sacrifices

made to ensure our final victory. Of

the 400,000 American soldiers who died

in this horrible war, most lost their

lives on the ground, in the trenches—

literally clawing for victory inch by

inch. The magnitude of the human

price of this effort should command our

deepest personal respect. We can never

adequately thank our veterans for

their supreme sacrifice.

Yet, through the images of fire and

the remnants of ashes rises the hope

that never again will we face such

darkness. Never again will we face the

prospect of such global sacrifice. Never

again will the forces of freedom be

asked to lay down their lives en masse

in the name of peace and order.

Today marks the seminal moment in

the American chapter of the War in Europe. It reminds us of our absolute resolve to maintain and preserve what is

right and just. I join my colleagues in

what is perhaps one of our most solemn

moments in recognition of those who

sacrificed so much for our freedom.

Mr. President, in honor of our fallen

veterans, I rise in humble tribute.

WAS CONGRESS IRRESPONSIBLE?

THE VOTERS HAVE SAID YES.

fMr. HELMS. Mr. President, more

than 3 years ago I began these daily reports to the Senate making a matter of

record the exact Federal debt as of

close of business the previous day.

As of the close of business Friday,

April 28, the exact Federal debt stood

at $4,857,682,676,296.70, meaning that on

a per capita basis, every man, woman,

and child in America owes $18,439.85 as

his or her share of the Federal debt.

It’s important to note, Mr. President,

that the United States had an opportunity to begin controlling the Federal

debt by implementing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Unfortunately, the Senate did not seize

its first opportunity to control this

debt—but there will be another chance

during the 104th Congress.

A PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE OF

V–E DAY

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this

morning Samuel Pisar, a distinguished

survivor of the Nazi death camps at

Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Leonberg,

and Dachau delivered the keynote address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial

Museum’s commemoration of the 50th

anniversary of V–E Day.

I was very moved by Mr. Pisar’s expression of gratitude to his liberators,

the U.S. Army. He recounted his first

words to the GI in the American tank

which rescued him, ‘‘I . . . summoned

the few English words my mother used

to sigh while dreaming of our deliverance, and yelled: ‘God Bless America!’’’

That gratitude, in Mr. Pisar’s words,

‘‘as intense as it was 50 years ago,’’

serves to remind us all of the role

which America has and continues

today to play in the world as a beacon

of hope for oppressed people.

I ask unanimous consent that the excerpt of Samuel Pisar’s address printed

Sunday in the Washington Post be

printed in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.

There being no objection, the address

was ordered to be printed in the

RECORD, as follows:

[From the Washington Post, May 7, 1995]

ESCAPE FROM DACHAU: MY OWN, PRIVATE V–

E DAY—FOR PRISONER B–1317, SALVATION

WAS A U.S. ARMY TANK

(By Samuel Pisar)

World War II was coming to an end, yet we

in the death camps knew nothing. What is

happening in the world outside? Does anyone

out there know what is happening here to

us? Do they care? I was 15 years old, and I

wanted to live.

The day the Allies landed on the beaches of

Normandy had been for us a day like any

other. The toll in the gas chambers that day

was higher than the losses suffered by the

combined armies under Gen. Eisenhower’s

command on this, their longest day.

Judging by the brutality of our guards, we

had every reason to believe that all of Europe was irrevocably lost, the Red Army

smashed, England fighting alone, its back to

the wall, against the seemingly invincible

forces of darkness. And America? America

was so unprepared, so divided, so far away.

How could she be expected to reverse the collapse of civilization at this penultimate

stage?

It took weeks for news of the U.S.-led invasion, beamed by the BBC from London,

across occupied Europe, to slip into Auschwitz. There was also an amazing rumor that

the Russians had mounted a powerful offensive on the Eastern front.

Incredible! So God had not turned His face

from the world after all. Could a miracle

still prevent the millenium of the Third

Reich? Oh to hang on, to hang on a little

longer!

We could guess from the Nazis’ mounting

nervousness that the weight of battle was

changing decisively. With the ground shrinking under their feet, they began herding us

deeper and deeper into Germany. I was

shunted to Sachsenhausen near Berlin, then

Leonberg near Stuttgart, then Dachau near

Munich—camps normally reserved for political prisoners, common criminals and homosexuals.