Declaring Emporia, Kansas, to be the founding city of the Veterans Day holiday and recognizing the contributions of Alvin J. King and Representative Ed Rees to the enactment into law of the observance of Veterans Day.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 159) declaring Emporia, Kansas, to be the founding city of the Veterans Day holiday and recognizing the contributions of Alvin J. King and Representative Ed Rees to the enactment into law of the observance of Veterans Day.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. MORAN of Kansas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon in support of House Concurrent Resolution 159, a bill that I introduced to encourage Americans to honor the duty and sacrifices of the members of our Armed Services by proclaiming Veterans Day as a special day of national remembrance.

In addition, this resolution recognizes the community of Emporia, Kansas for its efforts to pay tribute to our Nation's veterans and to declare Emporia, Kansas as the originating city of Veterans Day.

The resolution also recognizes the contributions of two native Kansans, Mr. Alvin J. King and the Honorable Edward J. Rees for the role each played in creating the legislation that established the national observance of Veterans Day on November 11 of each year.

Our country has had many wars in its history and generations of American service-men and -women have defended America's freedom and liberty. We are a free people today because of our Founders' principles and the willingness of our service-men and -women to defend those principles with their lives. We should be ever thankful that individuals of each generation have been willing to serve America, that they have been willing risk everything, to allow their children and grandchildren the opportunity to live in freedom.

Mr. Alvin J. King's abiding respect for veterans is attributed to the loss of his nephew, John Cooper, who was killed in action in Belgium during World War II. John Cooper was a member of Rifle Company B, 137th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army. After his nephew's death, Mr. King remain devoted to the war effort at home and served as the Veterans Security Chairman for the American War Dads.

In 1953, Mr. King proposed that Armistice Day, a national observance since 1938, be changed to Veterans Day in order to recognize and honor all veterans from all wars and all conflicts. At that time, Armistice Day existed only to honor veterans of World War I. The community of Emporia, Kansas, under the leadership of Mr. King celebrated its first ``All Veterans Day'' on November 11, 1953.

Through the financial support of the Emporia community, Mr. King and his wife, Gertrude, took the idea of an official Veterans Day to Washington, D.C. to Representative Edward H. Rees, another Emporia resident, who served Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years. The Congressman was strongly in favor of King's idea and said, ``It would give the holiday a new meaning and provide widespread patriotic observance.''

Following the inaugural ``All Veterans Day'' celebration in Emporia, Representative Rees introduced H.R. 7786, to change Armistice Day to Veterans Day and to establish its observation on November 11 of each year. The House and Senate both approved this legislation, and with the signature of another Kansan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the bill became law on June 1, 1954.

Before the Nation's first celebration of Veterans Day on November 11, 1954, President Eisenhower issued the following proclamation: ``On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that all their efforts shall not have been in vain.''

With the enactment and President Eisenhower's signature on H.R. 7786, Mr. King's dream to honor veterans of all conflicts was fulfilled. Every year since 1953, Emporia has honored our country's veterans, most recently with a week-long series of events that involves the entire community. Veterans Day is not just another holiday, not just a day off from work in Emporia, Kansas. The citizens of Emporia take very seriously their responsibility to honor our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor House Concurrent Resolution 159, and I want to thank my colleagues on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for their support. I ask my colleagues and my fellow Americans to join me on Veterans Day this year and every other day in recognizing the contributions and sacrifices that our Nation's veterans have made to protect this Nation and to defend our way of life.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 159.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his very thoughtful and kind generous remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for their leadership on this resolution and for their steadfast and committed efforts on behalf of all veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 159.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, this resolution declares Emporia, KS, to be the founding city of Veterans Day. In addition, the resolution recognizes the contributions of Alvin J. King and Representative Ed Rees from Emporia, KS, to the enactment into law of the observance of Veterans Day.

On October 8, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also a Kansan, signed

into law a bill changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day. President Eisenhower stated, ``On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.''

With the soon-to-be return of our service men and women from the war in Iraq, Veterans Day takes on a new meaning. These men and women who serve in Iraq today, join the other millions that have come before them. I am proud that President Eisenhower, Representative Rees, and Alvin King, all from the great state of Kansas, took the idea for the celebration of Veterans Day from conception to fruition.

Emporia, KS, organized and celebrated Veterans Day in 1953, one year before the rest of the United States. Alvin J. King, the man behind the idea, was a shoe cobbler in Emporia. Mr. King befriended many veterans, thus realizing that we needed a national holiday to commemorate all veterans of all wars, not just those of World War I. With support from the community of Emporia, Mr. King took his idea to Washington. There, he found a close ally in Representative Ed Rees, who introduced a bill to change the holiday. Mr. Rees said, ``The United States has now been involved in many great military efforts, and each has produced its number of veterans. We all realize that it would not be feasible to establish a national holiday to commemorate the closing of each war. This legislation does not establish a new holiday. Rather it expands an existing holiday so that we may honor all veterans at the same time.''

On November 11 of each year, we pay tribute to our veterans. Americans, as in all wars have rallied behind the men and women who went off to defend the American way of life. And, as some of those soldiers returned, we embraced and thanked them for their sacrifice. And for those that did not come home we remembered them in somber ceremonies, silent prayers, and grieving moments. On November 11 we pay reverence to anyone that has wore the uniform. We should, also, recognizes the shoe cobbler from Emporia, who had a vision for a national holiday; a representative, who listened to his hometown; and a President, who a veteran himself, saw the completion of this idea.

I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution.

Mr. President, I wish to recognize the city of Emporia, KS, for its significant role in the establishment of Veterans Day. The people of Emporia take great pride in their city's contribution to the founding of this national holiday, and, while they may be modest, I would like to trumpet the work of my fellow Kansans.

As all of us in this Chamber are aware, Veterans Day was once Armistice Day, a day set apart by this Congress to commemorate the end of World War I, which our Nation once hoped would be ``the war to end all wars.'' Just a few years after Armistice Day was made a legal holiday, our Nation was engulfed in the Second World War. Shortly thereafter our soldiers were fighting bravely to repel the communist advance on the Koran Peninsula. These two conflicts added millions to the number of war veterans in the United States. Certainly, it seemed appropriate that these new veterans, like the veterans of World War I, should be honored for their service to our country.

The man who initiated the effort to honor all of these veterans was a Kansan. Congressman Ed Rees, a native of Emporia, acted on the call of his constituents, particularly that of his fellow Emporian, Alvin J. King, to introduce legislation to officially change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. In 1954, another Kansan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, signed this legislation into law.

Since 1954, Veterans Day has been a day set apart to honor the valor and sacrifice of all America's veterans. At all times our Nation relies on the courage and selflessness of the members of our Armed Forces, so I am thankful that Congressman Ed Rees, at the behest of his fellow Emporians, worked so diligently to establish one special day when all our veterans are recognized for their faithful service to the United States. I thank the people of Emporia, and I thank the millions of war veterans who inspired them.

I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I too rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 159. I agree that recognition is due to the city of Emporia, Kansas and the Kansans who helped make Veterans' Day a national holiday honoring those who have served our Nation.

I believe as Members of Congress, we have a special obligation to honor those who have served by demonstrating our support for veterans every day we serve in these halls.

We do that not only by Concurrent Resolutions such as H. Con. Res. 159, but by also passing legislation, which provides the benefits and services our Nation's veterans have earned.

I would hope that before the next Veterans Day is celebrated, we would pass legislation removing the Disabled Veterans Tax from the burden born by our service-disabled military retirees.

I would hope that before the next Veterans Day is celebrated, we would pass legislation assuring veterans adequate funding to provide them with health care in a timely manner.

Today, we honor those who contributed to making Veterans Day a national holiday with our words.

Let us also honor them by our actions.

I urge all Members to support passage of H. Con. Res. 159. I urge all Members to support legislation which honors our Nation's disabled veterans by their deeds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 159 and thank the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) for bringing this matter for consideration. All of us on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs appreciate

the gentleman's hard work on this important committee.

Every November at Arlington National Cemetery and across the Nation we commemorate Veterans Day at the 11th hour of the 11th day, originally Armistice Day.

While it is appropriate for the Nation to honor the contributions of our World War I veterans, it became increasingly important to include veterans from all eras of service who have preserved our freedom.

I am pleased to support this important tribute to Mr. Alvin King and to Emporia, Kansas. This is an important recognition of their work, to make certain the immeasurable contributions and sacrifices of the Nation's veterans are annually remembered.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

General Leave