Honoring past and current members of the Armed Forces of the United States and encouraging Americans to wear red poppies on Memorial Day.

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

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 424, introduced by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg). This timely resolution honors the men and women who serve in uniform and calls on all Americans to recognize the sacrifices of those who have given their lives to protect our freedom by wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day, May 30.

In 2 weeks, our Nation will observe Memorial Day. Sadly, the true meaning of Memorial Day seems to have faded over the years, and for many young Americans, Memorial Day is often seen as just another holiday or the beginning of summer. This is sad and unfortunate as Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor those who have died in service, defending our Nation.

The resolution before us honors those who have given their lives in service to their country and encourages Americans to wear a red poppy on Memorial Day.

A number of people have asked, ``Why wear a red poppy?'' The red poppy grew abundantly in the battlefields of World War I, and it was the inspiration for several poems at the time, including such notable poems as ``Flanders Fields,'' written by John McCrae in May, 1915, and a poem by Moina Michael, entitled ``We Shall Keep the Faith,'' written in November, 1918.

The first Poppy Day was held in England on November 11, 1921, and since that time, the red poppy has been a

symbol of sacrifice. For over 80 years, the red poppy has been worn to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and to raise money to help our disabled veterans.

A poem attributed to Don Crawford entitled, ``Why Wear a Poppy'' captures the significance of this special flower, and I would like to read the poem for the Record.

Why Wear a Poppy

``Please wear a poppy,'' the lady said

And held one forth, but I shook my head.

Then I stopped and watched as she offered them there,

And her face was old and lined with care,

But beneath the scars the years had made

There remained a smile that refused to fade.

A boy came whistling down the street,

Bouncing along on care-free feet.

His smile was full of joy and fun,

``Lady,'' said he ``May I have one?''

When she pinned it on he turned to say,

``Why do we wear a poppy, today?''

The lady smiled in her wistful way,

And answered ``This is Remembrance Day,

And the poppy there is the symbol for

The gallant men and women who died in war,

And because they did, you and I are free,

That's why we wear a poppy, you see.

I had a boy about your size,

With golden hair and big blue eyes.

He loved to play and jump and shout,

Free as a bird he would race about.

As the years went by he learned and grew

And became a man--as you will too.

He was fine and strong with a boyish smile,

But he'd seemed with us such a little while

When war broke out and he went away.

I still remember his face that day.

When he smiled at me and said `Good-bye,

I'll soon be back, Mom, so please don't cry.'

But the war went on and he had to stay,

All I could do was wait and pray.

His letters told of the awful fight,

(I can see it still in my dreams at night.)

With the tanks and guns and the cruel barbed wire,

And the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.

Till at last, the war was won,

And that's why we wear a poppy, son.''

The small boy turned as if to go,

Then said, ``Thanks, lady, I'm glad to know.

That sure did sound like an awful fight.

But your son, did he come back all right?''

A tear rolled down each faded cheek,

She shook her head, but didn't speak.

I slunk away in a sort of shame,

And if you were me you'd have done the same,

For our thanks in giving, is oft delayed,

Though our freedom was bought, and thousands paid,

And so when we see a poppy worn,

Let us reflect on the burden borne

By those who gave their very all

And asked to answer their country's call,

That we at home in peace might live.

Then wear a poppy. Remember--and give!''

Mr. Speaker, this Memorial Day each hometown across America will pause to remember the heroes of this generation as well as those of the past. Let us honor and pay tribute to the over 900 American service members who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with all those who die in service to their Nation.

On Guam, we have lost three young men in Iraq: Specialist Christopher Wesley, Lieutenant Michael Vega, and Sergeant Eddie Chen. One officer, two enlisted men. Wesley, Vega and Chen, these three, are a microcosm of the American people, one Western name, one Hispanic name, and one Asian name.

In these troubled times, it is worth reflecting on Memorial Day who we are as a Nation and what values we stand for. We are a Nation of immigrants whose parents and grandparents have come to these shores seeking individual liberty, prosperity and human dignity. The Nation we call our own is a Nation of compassion and justice. It is a Nation worth dying for. It is a Nation of opportunity and freedom.

We on Guam know what freedom is all about because we also know what occupation is. We celebrate Liberation Day on Guam every year as the day of deliverance of enemy occupation and the return of freedom after 32 months of enemy subjugation. We know what it means to thank Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors for their sacrifices because it was not all that long ago that we were an occupied land.

Tomorrow, I will be accompanying former Congressman General Ben Blaz, the veterans of the 5th Field Service Depot of the United States Marine Corps to Arlington National Cemetery. We will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to express our deep appreciation to all those who serve and have served our Nation in uniform. We thank them, honor them, and will never forget them.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel), but first thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Schrock) for his very kind words.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to go on record to thank the gentleman from North Carolina. I pass those posters every day on my way to my office. I think it is a wonderful tribute that he is paying to the men and women in service who have lost their lives.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all of my colleagues who spoke in support of this resolution. Each of us will have a chance to spend some time with veterans from our districts on Memorial Day.

We know we owe them more than words for their service, but the words spoken here today came from the heart. And I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the liberators of Guam and all of our cherished veterans and outstanding servicemen and women in uniform.

I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg), the author; the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Schrock); and I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 424.

Mr. Speaker, many of those watching today's proceedings may notice that many of us here on the floor are wearing the red poppy. It is, in fact, a symbol of Memorial Day and an acknowledgment of the sacrifice made by armed services personnel in fighting for our freedom throughout the world.

Next weekend, our Nation will celebrate Memorial Day. All too often we forget the purposes of those celebrations, but Memorial Day is a very important day set aside to honor and acknowledge the sacrifice of all of those who have served our Nation and died in their service to our Nation. It is a day, as we will hear during this debate, with a long and important history.

It is a day which began as Decoration Day, following the deaths during the Civil War of so many soldiers, a day, as we will hear in this debate, civilians went to the fields to decorate the graves of soldiers who had died in battle and decorated the graves of all soldiers, both Confederate and Union.

Mr. Speaker, it is most fitting that this year, in this resolution, we would call upon the American people to make a special point of wearing a red poppy and of acknowledging the ultimate sacrifice made by our troops. Because this year, on Memorial Day, we will have troops in the field in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and throughout the world, who are serving our Nation and who themselves have been joined by soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

This resolution acknowledges the importance of the red poppy, which has been adopted by the American Legion and by the Auxiliary of the American Legion as the official flower honoring the sacrifice of those who have died in our Nation's service.

It seems to me, as Members will hear in this debate, there was a time in our Nation when all Americans on Memorial Day wore a red poppy to acknowledge sacrifices made by our Armed Forces personnel. It has now become a worldwide tradition.

I commend the gentleman for offering the resolution, and I encourage my colleagues to join in this debate, and I thank them for wearing the red poppy today.

Some 535 red poppies were donated to Congress, and every Member of the House and Senate has a red poppy to wear today and on Memorial Day in recognition of this grand tradition and in recognition of the sacrifice paid by our soldiers, including those who have lost their lives in the recent battles in Afghanistan and Iraq, one of those soldiers being Pat Tillman from my State whose life was tragically lost within the last month.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I want to close by thanking all of those who participated in this debate and who discussed the issue of this resolution. The issue of this resolution is not legislation as we debated the last hour regarding the defense appropriation. The issue of this resolution is the honoring of those American armed services personnel who have died in our Nation's service and of the great tradition of Memorial Day.

We heard here today in this discussion that there is indeed a great tradition surrounding Memorial Day that all Americans should be reminded of and should remember; a tradition that, as the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) reminds us, began as far as back as 1866 where veterans who had died, soldiers who had died in the Civil War, both Union and Confederate, had their graves decorated by the wives of Confederate soldiers who had died; a tradition that carried itself forward all the way to this day, a tradition that inspired the poem ``In Flanders Fields,'' read so eloquently by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the ranking member of the Committee on Armed Services.

There are indeed many poems that commemorate this great day in our history. One of them, ``We Shall Keep the Faith,'' written by Ms. Moina Michael of Athens, Georgia, the second city that supported and recognized Memorial Day, says:

We cherish too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

We have heard in this debate a discussion of the heroes who serve our Nation today, those who have tragically died in combat both in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I think it is indeed fitting that this year all Americans would acquire a red paper poppy and would acknowledge the sacrifice of those who have died.

As I indicated earlier, the red poppy is the national symbol of sacrifice all over the world, not just here in America. That was a tradition inspired by the fact that the red poppy was the first living plant to sprout from the devastation of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium during World War I; and its bright, vibrant color of red brought life and hope and reassurance to those still fighting and was the inspiration for the poem ``In Flanders Fields,'' which I would at this point like to insert in the Record, as well as the ``Poppy Poem'' by Doris Theiss, an American Legion member from Arizona, who brought this issue to my office.

It seems to me that it is fitting that this year with so many Americans still engaged in battle and the risk that today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or indeed when we celebrate Memorial Day next weekend itself, some American soldier may lose his or her life in the service of our country.

For our colleagues who are watching and for those around the Nation, this four-petaled crepe paper poppy became the official memorial flower of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary in 1923; and in 1927, at the Paris Convention, it was decided that only veteran-made poppies would be distributed by the American Legion Auxiliary. All of the poppies we see here on the floor today, and I would assume through the balance of this week are handmade by veterans.

I think it is most fitting that we honor our veterans, most fitting in particular that we honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. And I would hope that by this debate and by this memorial, Americans across the Nation would remember once again the significance and the meaning of Memorial Day they would hopefully acquire from the American Legion or from the VFW, which also recognizes the red poppy, a red, four- petaled poppy like this one, and this coming Memorial Day weekend recognize and honor the tremendous sacrifice made by all those who have died in our Nation's service.

In Flanders Fields

(By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army)

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place, and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 424) honoring past and current members of the Armed Forces of the United States and encouraging Americans to wear red poppies on Memorial Day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 424, the concurrent resolution currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg).

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) for introducing this resolution. I want to thank my very good friend of nearly 3 decades, the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo), for that wonderful poem. I know the sacrifices the folks on Guam made. I was privileged to serve in Guam during my Navy career, and I know what a great place that is and what a wonderful woman the gentlewoman is.

Mr. Speaker, as our Nation struggles to answer threats to our security in this global war on terror, it is appropriate that we both remember and seek inspiration from the sacrifices of the generations that have gone before in defending our freedoms, our way of life and the ideals on which our Nation is founded. Their sacrifices changed the world in which we live and made possible the freedoms we enjoy in today's world. Ours is a continuation of their struggle.

The red poppy is a symbol that even on the tortured soil of a war- torn battlefield, our soldiers can be reminded that despite the death and violence which surrounds them, the world for which they are fighting is vibrant and future beautiful. This remains an important symbol for every American, both in and out of uniform, who may feel overwhelmed by the death and violence of today's world.

It is important that we stop and consider the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. Their service is an honorable one, and our Nation owes them a debt we can never fully repay. That our Nation takes a day to contemplate and remember their sacrifice is an appropriate tribute to their efforts.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) to refocus our attention on what this bill is really about.

Mr. Speaker, we really have had time to debate what the last gentleman has discussed. It is too bad we are saddening the debate on this for that kind of discussion. There was certainly plenty of time for that.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones), one of the strongest advocates of the military that I have ever known.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg), who introduced this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, as this country will shortly celebrate Memorial Day, we pay tribute to the veterans who have honored us with their service, and their sacrifice.

As a Nation, we are united in honoring our war dead, we also need to be as united in honoring our living veterans.

In the last paragraph of his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln uttered the words that would ultimately comfort untold numbers of veterans and their families for generations to come. Lincoln challenged the divided nation to ``Bind up the Nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.''

Mr. Speaker, the promise of lifelong health care that this country made to our men and women in uniform is being threatened, not by the aggression of a foreign power, but by inadequate funding. As our veterans grow older, they require increased dependence on health care services.

Before elected for public office, I served as the chief psychiatric nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dallas during the 70's. I was privileged to serve in the day care and rehabilitation center of that facility for 15 years. I know firsthand that caring for America's veterans is the ongoing cost of war.

The Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center is an excellent example of how our nation can repay some of the debt it owes our brave veterans. The DVAMC operates 216 internal medicine beds, including a 28-bed pulmonary service. Moreover, a number of small VA hospitals and outlying community hospitals refer patients to the DVAMC for the diagnosis and treatment of complicated and unusual problems.

Mr. Speaker, I am worried that the proposed cuts will adversely affect over 70,000 Texas veterans. This number includes more than 18,000 veterans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It is estimated that 5,200 active patients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will drop out of the VA Health Care System.

Mr. Speaker, how can Congress and this administration even consider slashing benefits at a time when our young men and women are still in harm's way in Iraq, Afghanistan and Southwest Asia.

Veterans should not be expected to wait in long lines, and travel farther for health care services at a diminished level. If we fail our obligation to veterans, how can we justify sending more and more young service into harm's way?

As we salute our veterans, we must also recognize the medical care provided by VA medical centers, clinics, and nursing home facilities. I applaud the efforts of the hundreds of compassionate men and women who have dedicated themselves professionally to our veterans. Let us say to them: We salute you and we thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia and the gentlewoman from Guam, and I want to thank my friend from Arizona for bringing this resolution to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, it is important, whether we agree or disagree on whether our troops should be in Iraq or not, the fact is they are there. They have families that live in my district, the home of Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base; and I think that probably this year as much as ever if not even more than ever that on Memorial Day we the American people wear the red poppy to show our appreciation and our allegiance to the men and women in uniform and those who have given their sons and their daughters to die for freedom.

I brought with me today on the floor for my couple of minutes the faces of the real. To my left, Mr. Speaker, is a young man whose name is Tyler Jordan. Tyler's father was a gunny sergeant, Phillip Jordan, who was killed last year in Iraq. I bring this to the floor, Mr. Speaker, because this photograph speaks much better than I could ever speak. It shows a young man who is looking at the casket of his father. It is showing a young man who has a folded flag under his arm. These are the faces of the families who have given loved ones from the beginning of this great Nation through and including today.

The other poster, Mr. Speaker, I have outside of my office, 12 of these posters that say ``May We Never Forget.'' The reason for that is why we are here today speaking on behalf of this resolution. The red poppy is a reminder of past wars, of past gifts, of a husband, a wife, a son, or a daughter. This Nation does owe those who have worn the uniform and their families. We should never forget those who wore the uniform for this Nation. We should never forget those who gave their lives.

It so happens that this past Saturday night in my home district, a Reservist, Rodney Murray who died in Iraq 2 weeks ago, I went to visit and I had the chance to speak to the wife, a 24-year-old lady, whose husband, 28, died in Iraq 2 weeks ago. I said, Amanda, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives, I extend to you my deepest sympathy and my gratitude on behalf of my colleagues. Mr. Speaker, tears came to my eyes. I could not even complete the statement.

I close today by saying to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, please support this resolution, as we will do, and let us not forget as we begin to debate the needs of our retired military and those who have served and their families. God bless America and God bless our men and women in uniform.