Date: 1991-01-18
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. our great Nation is now committed to war in the Persian Gulf. At this very moment our brave men and women are risking their lives. engaged in deadly combat against the forces of Iraq. I have just returned from my home. the Virgin Islands. On the night of January 14. the eve of the United Nations deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. I joined hundreds of my neighbors and friends at a prayer service for Virgin Islanders serving in the gulf. A list of names of those from our community who are serving there was gathered by the members of the congregation. as best they could since no official listing is available. As we listened to a young Virgin Islander read name after name. more than 130 from St. Thomas and St. John alone. the full impact of the war on the people of our community began to strike home. -It was sobering to hear the names of our friends and loved ones. those who now face death and whom we pray we will see again. Suddenly. the price of this war and the sacrifice we have been called on to make became very real. After the list was read. we were invited to add the names of relatives and friends who had been missed. Many more were called out. I. too. added the name of a cousin. Soon. the list from our small community had reached 150. The following morning when the service was played on a local radio program. listeners were asked to call in names of family or close friends whose names should be included. Telephone lines lit up. Parents called with the names of children. Wives called for husbands. I heard one woman add the names of her three sons and a daughter to the list. This war in the Persian Gulf is very real to the people of the Virgin Islands. I believe that over 200 Virgin Islanders are serving in Operation Desert Storm at this very moment. They are serving their country proudly and we are proud of them and we support them fully. So. I say to my colleagues. that last week when this House held its historic debate on the question of war and peace. those Virgin Islanders. their parents. their loved ones. indeed. all citizens. not only of the Virgin Islands but of all the U.S. territories in the Pacific as well as the CaribbeanGuam. American Samoa. the Northern Marianas. and the Commonwealth of Puerto Ricohad no vote in this Chamber. We had no vote on the most critical decision of all decisions: the decision to commit the lives of our sons and daughters. that most agonizing of all decisions. the decision of war or peace. This week there was an editorial in the Washington Post about this situation as it relates to our Nations capital. the District of Columbia. As I read that editorial I felt great sympathy for the men and women of the District. But I could not help but think that at least they have a choice and a vote in who will lead this country. who will be their Commander in Chief. Citizens of the U.S. insular areas have neither a vote on the critical issue of war and peace nor a vote in deciding who will be their President and Commander in Chief. to make life and death decisions that will affect their sons and daughters who are called to battle. This is an unconscionable shame to this democracy. and it is a difficult issue that must be resolved for the honor of this Nation.