Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by
the Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior
Korean War Veterans Memorial Armistice Day Ceremony
Washington, DC
July 27, 2006
I remember the day this memorial was dedicated 11 years ago. I wanted to attend the opening, but my Senate duties that day prevented it. So, I instead stopped on my way home that night.
It was about 10:00 p.m. and there was an incredible storm raging. Lightning illuminated the 19 soldier’s faces as they patrolled the fields. The rain dripped off their helmets and ponchos. And the crackling thunder sounded like cannon fire echoing throughout the Mall.
I stood here that night thinking how incredible it was for nature to summon such a picture of what it must have been like for our soldiers in Korea – thousands of miles from home in a different land, drenched, weary, marching through the fields, bombs and rockets bursting all around them, lighting up faces etched with concern, but also filled with great courage and determination. I will never forget that image. And millions of Americans will never forget what the soldiers who fought in the Korean War did to defend freedom.
Neither will millions of Koreans. I learned this last year when, as Governor of Idaho, I visited the Korean War Memorial in Seoul, South Korea. The Koreans assembled their honor guard with great dignity and rendered all honors to fallen American soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom in Korea.
I was moved by how much they revere the soldiers whose blood is forever mixed with their soil.
At this Memorial there are inscriptions of all those from each state who died in the war. I found the section for Idaho and touched every inscription. I read every name out loud.
I did this because I believe every name, and every person attached to that name, deserves to be remembered. I know you all feel the same way.
This past Friday night at the Department of the Interior we had the honor of hosting a dinner for our most recent heroes – wounded soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines from Walter Reed Army Hospital and Bethesda Naval Hospital.
For some, this was the first time out of the hospital since they received their wounds. Their missing limbs and other injuries served witness, that freedom is indeed not free.
There on the rooftop of the Department of the Interior, these troops and their families looked out at Arlington Cemetery, the WW2 Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and this memorial – all reminders of the ultimate cost of freedom.
But also reminders that we’re a nation that reveres all those times our servicemen and women have sacrificed with the greatest valor, to pay the price for Liberty.
I know our President is deeply grateful. He visits the troops at Walter Reed and Bethesda. I have been with him when he’s met our soldiers and their families, and when he has hugged those families whose loved ones have been killed.
I also know how much our troops and veterans mean to our Vice President. Last week, the Vice President visited 10,000 troops at Fort Stewart in Georgia to thank them for their service. He reenlisted an army gunner who lost his leg in a bomb blast last year, yet pledged last Friday to serve another four years
I thank the Korean War veterans here for also supporting today’s troops and for giving all of us an example of courage, sacrifice, and devotion.
I thank the Vietnam veterans for doing the same, and for teaching this country forever how to properly welcome our returning soldiers in a hero’s embrace.
All our veterans deserve our profound respect and deep appreciation.
Throughout our nation’s history – from the American Revolution to the war in Iraq – the hopes and prayers for freedom have always marched with our soldiers.
The heroes who fought in the Korean War answered the prayers of millions of people, and the eyes of the world – from Korea to America – will always look with gratitude upon you.
Today, the hopes of the world still rest with the United States to defend freedom and defeat tyranny.
A few weeks ago I toured the 9th ward in New Orleans with Brigadier General Hunt Downer, Assistant Adjutant General of the Louisiana National Guard. We saw two children playing in a puddle and I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. They both pointed to the general and said: “I want to be like him.”
So I’m confident that future generations will honor the sacrifice of those who went before them and they too will answer the call to serve our country.
As our children and others continue to follow the example set by you, our veterans…
As they adopt your courage, humility, sacrifice, perseverance, sense of duty, and brotherhood…
As they continue to admire the men and women who serve in uniform…we can rest assured that no war, and no hero, will ever be forgotten.
To all those who fought in Korea – you are not forgotten. The flame of freedom you preserved so long ago will continue to shine its light upon all the world for generations to come.
U.S. Department of the Interior