Veterans Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, this Wednesday, Americans all across the country will gather to honor all those who have fought for freedom and thank them for a debt we can never fully repay. Whenever freedom is threatened, our brave men and women of America have answered the call.

In honor of Veterans Day on Wednesday, I will take a moment to recognize an amazing Illinois veteran, part of what we call the ``greatest generation.''

It was December 7, 1941--as FDR said just a few steps away from us in the House Chamber, a day which will live in infamy. The Imperial Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. That also happened to be the 22nd birthday of Tony Gargano, and it was the day he decided he would enlist in the U.S. Navy. Tony was assigned to a ship disguised as a merchant marine vessel. He and his shipmates didn't wear Navy uniforms or carry IDs, and their ship had no guns.

In November of 1942, a German ship--also disguised as a merchant vessel--sank the ship Tony was on. Tony survived and was taken as a prisoner aboard the German ship. Then he was turned over to the Japanese, where he spent the next 3 years as a prisoner working in a coal mine. Every day he would come out of the mine covered head to toe with coal dust. In those 3 years, Tony never had a chance to take a shower, never could wash his hands--3 years. He worked more than 10 hours a day on less than 8 ounces of water and 6 ounces of spoiled rice.

Here is how he described his experience:

They torture you. They beat the hell out of us. You'd try to get up and they'd beat you back to the ground. You prayed to God they would kill you.

By the time the war was over and the Red Cross arrived, Tony couldn't believe he was still alive. After he arrived in the United States, they quarantined him for weeks. He couldn't even call his family to tell them he was alive. But he made it, and he came home.

Now fast-forward 70 years. Tony is 95 years old. He marvels at his good fortune. After the war, he came home and

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married Julia Elliot, the love of his life. They worked 6 days a week. He was maitre d' at Elliot's Pine Log Restaurant in Skokie, IL. He watched his son and daughter grow up and enjoyed the arrival of five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. What a life.
Last month Tony Gargano came to Washington with the Honor Flight. He visited the White House and the World War II Memorial. He shared his story with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. They asked him: ``What do you think of when you look back on your life?''

Here is what Tony said:

Everything turned out pretty good. I met a nice, young lady. We got married, and spent 60 beautiful years together. I have no complaints.

Isn't that an amazing statement for a man who served 3 years as a prisoner of war and was nearly killed in the effort. The joys of Tony's life have outshined the horrors of that war. If you ask Tony if he is a hero, he says:

There were others who had it much worse. The people we should honor are the ones where the white crosses are. Those are your heroes.

Tony is right, but Tony is a hero too. Tony Gargano faced an unspeakable evil with grace, courage, and determination. He lived his life with love in his heart, and that makes him, even to this day, a true American hero.

It is the service and sacrifice of people like Tony we will continue to honor not just on Veterans Day this Wednesday, but we should honor them every day. Too often servicemembers return home only to find themselves facing a myriad of challenges, from the physical and mental wounds of war to struggling to find work, an education or a home. We can't simply commemorate their service by waving our flags, marching in their parade, and then forgetting them. We have to ensure that veterans and their families have access to the best health care, education, jobs, and housing.

I have been committed to this effort, and I have one program I am particularly proud to have been a part of. It is called the VA Caregivers Program. It provides the families of severely disabled Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans the support they need to keep the veterans home with their families. Thousands of veterans and their caregivers in Illinois and nationwide participate. It is a big, successful program. I recently introduced legislation to expand it so it covers all veterans.

We know veterans face unnecessary delays and claims, processing and reimbursement, and I have worked hard to cut down on that backlog. I have also tried to make our VA hospitals and medical centers in Illinois and across the country the best. It is the new method of medical service being provided to our veterans, and it has to be the best.

I have been proud to sponsor bills to strengthen post-traumatic stress disorder for veterans and their families as well as improve orthotics and prosthetics research and education. I have been proud to help veterans get homes and jobs. For example, just this year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded more than $674,000 in grants to assist homeless veterans in my State through a tenant-based voucher program.

Let me say a word about a program I visited just this last week in Chicago, which is an extraordinary program. The program is called Rags of Honor. It was created by my friend Mark Doyle. He wanted to do something to create good-paying jobs for homeless veterans, and so he decided to print T-shirts and hired homeless veterans to do it. It is on its third year now, and my friend has basically underwritten it, but the fact is, it is a success.

These men and women who were living in their cars or living on the streets now have good-paying jobs making T-shirts. These T-shirts are all made by veterans, some of whom were homeless. These are all American products, all American made, and they are selling them and people are buying them. Northwestern University decided they would turn to them and have them print T-shirts for some of their needs at the university. I have used Rags of Honor T-shirts in my campaign. It is an example of what can be done to help our veterans--just by one man who was willing to dedicate a big part of his life to do it, and there are so many more like him.

I wish to thank all of those who have risked and given of themselves--even the families of those who have given their lives for this Nation--and for the wounds they suffered, the sacrifices they made, and the freedoms we enjoy which they secured. We remember and honor the service of every American veteran, not only at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month but every day of the year, because even though servicemembers and veterans like Tony Gargano may shy away from being labeled as heroes, they are truly of the most deserving of that honor.

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