Date: 2014-06-10
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. this past weekend. I had the privilege of joining the President of the United States in the official delegation to the 70th commemoration of DDay. It was not a normal experience of an international codel. the opportunity to interact with our colleagues and allies in Europe. but it was a testament and a testimony to the continuing strength. determination. and value of the United States of America. It was a moving experience. It was an experience based in reality. We listened to the recounting of the deliberations of General Montgomery. General Eisenhower. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Winston Churchill. and many others. We listened to the stories of young men. many of whom signed up at the age of 15 or 16. 17. wanting to serve their country. not knowing where they would go. now in their late 80s and early 90s. and some would say the sweetest men that you had ever seen. showing pictures. telling stories. and shedding a tear about the comrades that were left on Omaha Beach or Sword Beach. soldiers that didnt speak the same language but understood the words of liberation and freedom. I would only say that I hope this challenges this body called the House of Representatives. that they didnt wear the armor of Republicans or Green Party or Tea Party or Independent Party or Democratic Party. they wore the armor of an American. What wonderful words of General Eisenhower. who said that he needed the unity. the strength of all. or the sadness of those who ploughed their way onto the beach. seasick and nauseous as they were. losing tons of equipment. and. unfortunately. at times coming and falling over bodies of bleeding soldiers. losing some 10.000 in the first day. Where is the America of that time. prepared to take up comprehensive immigration reform or prepared to take up serious gun regulations to stop this unending violence in America. even the shooting of two law enforcement officers? What has America come to? Where is its greatness? Where is the reality that we are the generations that have inherited those young mens livesand young womens. the Rosie Riveterswho left their homes. sacrificing? Where is the placement of the Voting Rights Act reauthorization. which is a bipartisan bill? Why havent we passed that to show that liberty is real in the United States of America? I had moments where tears fellof joyand the privilege of talking to and meeting these men. watching them receive the honor from the French people. and as we walked through the streets even today. the people of France were saying thank you with a degree of emotion that knew that they would not be free. they would not be liberated. they would not be France if it had not been for those boys who left the soil of this United States. or those who came from Guadeloupe and Martinique. men of color who came and were trained from Fort Dix and then fought on the shores. or my uncle. who fought in Tunis and Ethiopia. and others who left my widowed grandmother. her three sons. leaving one behindall of us have been touched. So it is important that. even as we look to the status of Sergeant Bergdahl. that we look at it in a spirit of fairness. not grandstanding. not partisan politics. but finding out the facts and realizing that America is greater than divisive politics when you look to the Greatest Generation of which we have now been given the gift of their life. their sacrifice. No one will be the same after they have walked amongst the white crosses that represent the blood shed by America. not to conquer Europe. but to free Europe. That is our mantra. and that is what we should do for the American people. not to conquer them. but to free them from violence. from inconsistent policies. and certainly from the inability to vote. I pay tribute to the 70th commemoration of the brilliance of America and the spirit of her youth. and I tell everyone that that brilliance and that spirit is not lost upon us today. I am happy because I know that embedded in all of those who walk the streets of this Nation and call themselves an American have that same spirit. and we can make a difference in this country for all of those who need us.