Date: 1985-02-05
Speaker: JAN SCRUGGS (republican)
Chamber: S

My fellow veterans. because of this Memorial. we do now have our recognition. And we can now say that we have honored our dead and all of this has been a long time in coming. But its a time for America to be proud again. This Memorial has given America far more than honor for its veterans. Out of the bitter devisiveness of Vietnam has come a symbol of national unity. This is a memorial to heal the wounds of the Veterans and to heal the wounds of a nation. People will always debate the Vietnam War. and let them. But this site is sacred ground where Americans have shown their honor and their respect for the sacrifices made by generations of young soldiers who answered the call of duty. Before we turn this Memorial over to the government. I have something to say. It is .indeed ironic that Vietnam Veterans are giving the government a Memorial. It would seem more appropriate for the government to be giving a memorial to the Vietnam Veterans. But Vietnam was that kind of war. We Vietnam Veterans. in the same spirit that we served in that conflict. now prepare to give America something very wonderful. We give our country this Memorial. We give our country back its pride. We give our country back its unity. both of which were wounded so badly by that war. Today. we also thank those who made this Memorial possible. The funds for this Memorial came from the people of this country. they came from locals of the AFLCIO. the Teamsters Union. Veterans Posts. high school students. elementary school children. People who were against the war donated and conservative businessmen. Every type of person in America is a part of this Memorial. From across America. when the idea for this Memorial came out. compassionate people responded to our need for funding. As a Vietnam Veteran. I have to say. thank you. America. Yet. there is more work to be done. We must have a full accounting for those. who are missing in action. We must resolve the Agent Orange controversy. We must be assured that those who make the foreign policy decisions for our country remember the lessons learned in Vietnam. And we as veterans must never let another generation of returning war veterans. if that happens. get the reception that we received after our military service. For me. personally. the project has probably been the most challenging and difficult thing that I have ever done in my life. but I have had a lot of help. Ive had a very talented staff with people such as Colonel Robert A. Carter. a retired fighter pilot who served in Vietnam. flew over 100 missions. and who has managed the Memorial Fund. Ive met others like Bob Dubek. Colonel Don Shaet. Kathie Kiclich. and many others who put in countless hours on this project. and people on our Board of Directors who have served as volunteers and dones so very much to help the project move along. Recognition is also due another very. very special person. I and all Vietnam veterans thank Miss Maya Yin Lin. She gave us her talent at designing this beautiful wall that has been a catharsis for so many of us and so many of the parents whose sons are on that wall. And to Frederick Hart. the sculptor. for this extraordinary work of art that we dedicate here today for his great work. And we recognize General Michael S. Davidson who came with the idea to include a statute to the Vietnam Memorial. and we give our very special thanks to the National Park Service and to the people who actually literally built the Memorial. the construction workers. people like Joe Mussolino. the Gilbane Building Company. the architecture firm of- Cooper Lecky. and many others. People in the National Park Service have been particularly helpful. with the ceremonies and everything concerning the Vietnai Veterans Memorial. We are thankful to them as public servants. If you were to see the work that they do and have done for us. you would be very pleased. youre getting your moneys worth with the United States Park Service. There is a hand for the Park Service. Ladies and gentlemen. I would like to now introduce the Secretaryof the Interior. Mr. William P. Clarkthe Honorable William P. Clark. Hes had a very distinguished career of public service as a judge and recently served two years as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He is the 44th Secretary of Interior of our Government. but he is the only one to ever get a Vietnam Veterans Memorial. So. ladies and gentlemen. the Honorable Secretary of the Interior. William P. Clark. Hon. WILLIAM P. CLARK. Ladies and gentlemen. standing here this Veterans Day. together. among the great monuments of Americas history. I am reminded of the words that Abraham Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg in the midst of our most bitter war. words that are chiseled in stone in the monument to our right. His speech was brief. as mine will be this moment. but President Lincoln spoke long enough to remind the people gathered together on that battlefield that they could not dedicate that ground. they could not consecrate that ground. they could not hallow that ground. The brave men. living and dead. who struggled here. he said. have consecrated it. Far above our poor power to add or to detract. He went on. it is for us the living to be dedicated here to the unfinished work that they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead. we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. that we here highly resolve that these dead should not have died in vain. Today. unlike Mr. Lincoln at Gettysburg. we cannot meet on the battlefields of Vietnam. we cannot gather in the rice paddies and the jungles of a far away land to honor those who served so courageously and honorably in that our longest and most painful war since the Civil War. So. we come together here instead. amidst the most enduring symbols of our history as a nation. We come together to add yet one more monument to this most noble setting. And In doing so we say. as Lincoln said at Gettysburg. that this ground is now sacred. We do not make it so. The 58.022 men and women whose names here are enshrined have consecrated it far above our own poor power. again. to add or to detract. But we pledge them that we will not allow their sacrifice again to be in vain. We dedicate ourselves anew to the cause of freedom for which they gave their lives. We dedicate ourselves again to the task of assuring that America that they left us will ever be the land of the free. the home of the brave. and in so doing. we also honor those who serve. but whose fate remains unknown. those who have still not returned. As president Reagan said last Memorial Day at the funeral of the Unknown Serviceman of the Vietnam Conflict. and I quote: "An end to Americas involvement in Vietnam cannot come before we have achieved the fullest possible accounting of those missing in action." And. yes. their names are also inscribed on this Memorial. We honor the families of those who have served. and especially the families of those who are still missing. But. S 1018 CO they ztill bear the personal sorrows of war and its uncertainty. * We honor their comrades. so many of whom have come from across America to be here with us this day. This Memorial is for you. you have served your country so well. And. thus. ladies and gentlemen.. M1 now join the President who will join you with the Firstlady very shortly. Thank you and God bless. Senator JoHN W. WARNER. Ladies and gentlemen. the President of the United States and Mrs. Reagan. accompanied by Secretary Clark. Men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States. veterans who served America with pride. It is my privilege to present to you the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States. the President of the UnjZed States. President REAGAN. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Warner. thank you very much and may I thank you also for the crucial personal support that you gave to the building of this Memorial. I extend the thanks of the Nation also to all who have contributed so much to this fine cause. Ladies and gentlemen. honored guests. my remarks today will be brief because so much has been said over the years and saidso well about the loyalty and the valor of those who served us In Vietnam. -Its occurred to me that only one very Important thing has been left unsaid. and I wim try to apeak of It today. It is almost 10 years now sinceU.S. military involvement in Vietnam came toa close. Two years ago. our Government dedicated the Memorial bearing the names of those who died or are still missing. Every day the .families and friends of those men and women come to the wall and search out a name and touch It. The Memoral reflects as a mirror xeflects. so that when you find a name youre searching for. you find it in your own reflettion. And as you touch it from certain angles. you are touching too the Tefledtlon of the Washington Maonnmerit or the chair in hich great Abe Lincoln sits. Those who fought in Vietnam are part of us. paft 4ofour history. They refletted the best in us. No number of wreaths. no amount of music and memorializing will ever do lthem jugtice. but It is good for us thdt we honor them and their sacrifice. And its good that we do it in the refledted glow (of the enduringsymbols of our republic. The fighting men depicted In the statue we dedicate today. the three you.mg Amerlcan servicemen am Individial only in terms of their battle dress. All are as one. with eyes fixed upon the Memorial. bearing the names of theirbrother in arms. On their youthful lanes. faces too young to have xperienced war. we see expressions of loneliness and profound love and a 11erce determination never to forget. The men of Vietnam answered the call of their country. Some of them died in the arms of many of you here today. asking you to look after a newly tborn :child or care fora loved one. They died uncomplaining. the tears staining their mud caked faces were nIt forselfpity. but.for the sorrow that they knew the news of their (death would cause their families and friends. As you knelt along side his ltter and held him one last time. you heard his silent message. lieasked you not to forget. Today we pay homage not only to those who gave their lives. but of their Lcomrades present today and all across the country. You didnt forget. You kept the faith. You walked away from the litter. wiped away your tears and returned to battle. You fought on. sustained by one another. and deaf to the