Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am aware of the remarks I am about to make in recognition of the Presiding Officer who has, prior to coming to this body, led hundreds of troops into Iraq during some of the most difficult combat that any soldiers faced during that conflict.

When I first came to the Senate, we had many combat veterans, but that has changed over the years, quite remarkably.

We all look to Senator McCain as someone who certainly understands what it means to be in a conflict in war, but things have changed since we lost Medal of Honor winners: Dan Inouye on his passing; Bob Kerrey as a result of his retiring; Fritz Hollings, a Silver Star winner, combat veteran of World War II; Ted Stevens flying airplanes into the Far East, a dedicated heroic pilot; and many other people, so there aren't many left anymore.

That is why I focus attention on the Presiding Officer today, because he is representative of the best of people who fight for freedom.

On June 6, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt began his national radio address in a very unusual way, one not entirely common then or now, because the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, asked the American people to join him in prayer. Why did he do that? His prayer was not for himself but for the 156,000 allied soldiers who, as he spoke, were fighting their way onto the beaches of Normandy.

As he implored the American people on behalf of those soldiers, he said:

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violence of war. For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.

That was part of his request, that the American people pray for these valiant soldiers. Of course, while this battle for Europe was going on throughout the South Pacific, people were dying as he spoke. Virtually all of the troops who stormed the beaches of France that day were not professional soldiers. They were schoolteachers, farmers, ranchers, mechanics, and clerks. These fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers were pulled away from their peaceful lives and instead were sent to liberate an entire continent. They fought courageously for liberty. They hurtled themselves into the line of fire to defeat tyranny.

We can probably all look back at people who fought in World War II. They were our relatives, our neighbors, and I mentioned a few whom I served with in the Senate.

From the little town I come from in Nevada, Searchlight, there was a man there named Junior Cree. His name was Junior Cree. That was his given name. I grew up there as a little boy.

He had a service station, a little bar, and did a number of different things. He was an entrepreneur, as was his dad.

Many years after I was no longer a little boy, he came to my home in Searchlight and wanted to see my new home. Junior and I sat and talked with his daughter Sandy. I had asked him: Junior, what did you do in the invasion of Normandy? He proceeded to tell me. Yet at this time he was an 80-year-old man.

He told me he had fought in the North African conflict first. He was in the infantry. He was not in the first wave to go onto the beaches, but he was in one of the first, in one of the amphibious vehicles. There were about 35 or 40 people on one of those.

His job--he had his rifle of course but his job was to carry signs--he was a big man--into the water onto the beaches, and he had instructions on what to do with the signs, to designate who they were and what they were supposed to do. The water was much deeper than anyone said. Well, this man, who was well over 6 foot, went right to the bottom and nearly drowned because these signs were so heavy. He made it onto the beach and found security under a damaged half-track, I think he called it. He was shot in the rear end, and that ended his military adventures during World War II.

These people were everyplace. Junior Cree was one of 156,000 people on those beaches. They were all heroes. They were all people just like Junior Cree. They fought courageously for liberty. As I have indicated, they hurtled themselves into the line of fire. Can you imagine going onto the beach with the machine gun fire coming down on top of you.

Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary of D-day. On that day 156,000 heroic soldiers turned the tide against Adolf Hitler's savagery and unshackled the nations of Europe. This afternoon there are about 10 or 11 Senators who are going to go to that 70th anniversary which is being held on the beaches of Normandy. President Obama will be there, world leaders will be there, and I appreciate very much those Senators going and representing the Senate, as well as the Presiding Officer.

Proof of these soldiers' bravery can be seen in faraway France today, every day, not just for the celebration that is going to take place recognizing the 70th anniversary of this conflict--every day--because there are massive graves there, all over Europe. These seemingly endless rows of white headstones testify to their valor. Crosses and Stars of David are reminders of the debt we owe to those who refused to balk in the face of the evil, and that was Hitler. Adolf Hitler's Nazis were evil.

May we always honor their sacrifice and never forget the price they paid to protect, not only this Nation but the entire world.

HONORING VETERANS

One of the ways in which we honor soldiers in our democracy is to care for our veterans. As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of D-day, it is fitting that Members of this body are working on a bipartisan basis to ensure that American veterans get the help they need and deserve. In light of the disturbing reports of the practices of the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and other facilities, chairman Bernie Sanders, of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, is leading the effort to craft a bill to improve care at VA hospitals.

I applaud his efforts. I applaud the efforts of Senator McCain. As we speak, they are meeting to try to come up with some bipartisan solution to the problems of wait times at VA facilities. I am hopeful an agreement will be reached that guarantees American veterans are receiving the care we as a grateful nation have promised. It is the least we can do for these gallant men and women who have fought to protect our great country.

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