HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, September 10, 1998
1998 Ron Paul 98:1 Mr. PAUL.
Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, September
13 I will have the distinct pleasure of
being the keynote speaker at the opening
ceremonies for POW/MIA Recognition week in
Matagorda County, Texas.
1998 Ron Paul 98:2 This event will be sponsored by Matagorda
County Veterans Services as a part of POW/
MIA Recognition Week. Mr. Speaker, as a
United States Air Force veteran I am well
aware of the sacrifices which brave young
men are required to make during times of war.
Perhaps no better example of these sacrifices
can be found than those endured by Prisoners
of War and those Missing In Action. From
“Hanoi Hilton” to “Saving Private Ryan” we
have seen the dramatic horrors that war
brings, but behind the stories, beyond the silver
screen, there are real Private Ryan’s who
never do make it home. And there are families
broken, lives affected and communities
touched, by the real sacrifices of the real heroes
who fight America’s wars.
1998 Ron Paul 98:3 I believe that no young man or woman has
ever entered the military hoping to face combat,
but most answer the call because they
believe in the liberties which our nation was
founded upon, and they see our nation as a
beacon of liberty. It is to these young people
that I wish to bring honor and it is to those
who have become Missing, or are held Prisoner,
to whom I believe this nation must
pledge ongoing fealty. Specifically, I would like
to memorialize U.S. Army Sergeant Joe Parks,
from Matagorda County, who died while in
captivity in Vietnam.
1998 Ron Paul 98:4 Mr. Speaker, our nation has suffered a great
burden as a result of the wars of this century,
in some instances it has nearly been torn
apart by these wars, but none have suffered
more than those who are missing, and their
families, many of whom still hope against
hope that they will one day return, either to resume
lives or to be granted a proper burial.
Our nation still has some 93,000 individuals
who are unaccounted for, some of whom are
believed to be POW’s even now during a time
of relative peace. Mr. Speaker, I believe we
owe it to these men, and to their families, to
get a full accounting for every person which
this nation has sent abroad. I believe we owe
it to our nation to bring each and every one of
them home.
1998 Ron Paul 98:5 With the opening of archives from the
former Soviet Union we have seen evidence
of how young American servicemen were allowed
to become political chess pieces for a
totalitarian regime. It is due to the efforts of
groups such as Matagorda County Veterans
Services that we can honestly say “You Are
Not Forgotten” to those who have sacrificed
so much. And it is critical that we keep these
memories forever etched in our minds so that
we might also recall the mantra “never again.”
Never again should Americans be forced to
face the brutalities of war, such as those faced
in Prisoner of War camps, and never again
should we allow brave Americans to go missing
in action.
Note:
1998 Ron Paul 98:1
POW/MIA Recognition week probably should be capitalized:
POW/MIA Recognition Week as in the next verse.
