Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, let me join my other colleagues in appreciation for Senator Ernst and her service in Iraqi Freedom, her two decades of service, being ready and able to go whenever she was called to go, and her continued service here, and her appreciation for those who serve, which she feels in such a unique way.

She pointed out that this is a different Memorial Day. Communities across Missouri and across the country have traditional events that were long planned on Memorial Day. Every year, Memorial Day looks the same. It will not look the same in very many places this year. If you did have a parade or an event planned, it was probably canceled weeks ago. Even with the best of efforts, it was probably not put together for Monday.

But it doesn't mean that we still don't have an opportunity and an obligation, in fact, to remember those who served. Also, Memorial Day has long become a time, at least where I live, in the middle of the country--and it may be more southern and in southern Missouri than in other places. Memorial Day really became a day to remember all of those who have gone before us, those who passed along values to us, those who have done things that made life possible today.

When I was growing up, sometimes we called Memorial Day ``Decoration Day,'' because it was the beginning of the tradition of Memorial Day, and people would go and decorate the graves of soldiers after the Civil War. That has continued. Memorial Day became a time when families would go to cemeteries, and you sort of had the genealogical lesson right there, as you walked from gravestone to gravestone, and it was explained to you how those people were related to you.

Many family members who were here last year aren't here today and will not be here on Monday. Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on families. It has had a devastating impact on communities. It has had a devastating impact on lives.

As we support this Memorial Day, as we think about this Memorial Day, we will be remembering a unique Memorial Day, where so many have given their lives in a war that was different than other wars, to an enemy that was not easily seen, to an enemy that turned out to be deadlier around the world than any would have predicted. And that is part of Memorial Day this year.

Part of Memorial Day is remembering the sacrifices that people have made, and we also on this day want to remember the sacrifices that people made to try to keep people alive with this virus--the sacrifices people have made to try to give care, to bring people out of the emergency room, to bring people off the ventilators, and to do those things.

It is, in fact, a unique Memorial Day. It is a Memorial Day where, 75 years ago, we were just finishing the incredibly devastating war of World War II. V-E Day ended the war in Europe on May 8. Seventy-five years ago right now, American soldiers were fighting the Battle of Okinawa. Just 2 weeks before that, our country and our allies fought the fierce Battle of Iwo Jima. These were really the two last major battles.

One of the people who died on Iwo Jima was an 18-year-old marine from Bates County, MO, named George Phillips. On the night of March 14, an enemy hand grenade was tossed into the area where his squad had sought shelter. Private Phillips shouted a warning and threw his body on top of the grenade, saving the lives of every other person there, but gave his life to save theirs.

For his actions that day, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation was signed by another former soldier from Missouri--President Truman--honoring that bravery.

That kind of unhesitating bravery is a characteristic of American soldiers over centuries of understanding what it meant to defend your family, to defend your friends, to defend those serving with you, and, in the case of our country, to be willing to defend freedom, to be willing to jump on the grenade, to be willing to do what is necessary to protect others.

We have seen many examples of that in the last year. Some of those examples were in the military. Others were in those who protect us and in first responders and police and fire, and then many examples of people who risked their lives to save others with the virus that has attacked our country.

We have a lot to think about this Memorial Day, a lot to dedicate ourselves toward as we look to a future where people continue to help others, where people continue to give selflessly, and for those who have served in the military, to be willing to pay whatever price, and we stand in appreciation of that on this Memorial Day, as we approach this weekend.

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