[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 178 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on one final matter, on Monday, our 
Nation will observe Veterans Day. Some will gather here in our Nation's 
Capital at the proud monuments that pay enduring tribute to the service 
and sacrifice of generations of brave servicemembers. Many more will 
mark the day in ceremonies in small towns and cities across our 
country. And, of course, many Americans will have veterans to thank 
firsthand in their own families and neighborhoods.
  My own father's Army service took him to the heart of the battle for 
Europe in 1945. His company sustained heavy losses. When he returned 
home, he traded his uniform for a briefcase and went back to work in 
our community.
  Perhaps the only thing more remarkable than the heroic service that 
generations of veterans have offered at home and overseas is the fact 
that they come home and keep right on serving in new ways--as fathers 
and mothers, as skilled workers, as entrepreneurs, or as educators, and 
in every case, as a custodian of a unique part of our Nation's 
collective memory.
  It is a cliche, but it is a cliche for good reason: the land of the 
free because of the brave.
  The Senate will not be in session on Monday, as we honor Veterans 
Day, but I hope that each of our Members will be remembering and giving 
thanks for all veterans and for those brave men and women serving 
today. Their efforts are the reason why this Chamber exists, why it 
still stands, and why American self-government and American freedom 
endure.

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