On Monday July 31, I visited the Rev. Warner Hawkins at his home in Lake City, where he lay dying.

Few moments of my Congressional service have been more precious and humbling.

I had the privilege of formally presenting to the Rev. Hawkins medals he had earned in arduous combat service fighting against the Germans in Europe more than 55 years ago. We prayed and talked together. As he faced death, he was every bit the wonderful example for all of us that he had been as he lived his long, full - and not always easy - life.

Warner went to work in the coal mines when he was 10 years old in order to help feed his family. In 1942, he joined millions of men and women from those years in entering the U.S. military. He endured ferocious combat in Europe and then seven months of sometimes brutal confinement as a prisoner of war of the Germans. But the Rev. Hawkins was not broken or embittered by that experience. In fact, it was during that time that he answered the call of Christ and began a ministry that he would continue until the day he died less than two weeks after our visit.

Talks with veterans like the Rev. Hawkins are one of the most meaningful parts of my service as Congressman. You can't speak long with any of them without being powerfully reminded of how much they went through. And you can't help but realize that no matter how tough things can sometimes be for us in today's America, we really don't know anything about the suffering and adversity these veterans had to face and the courage and strength they had to summon up from within themselves. This point applies to all our veterans, no matter whether they fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam or some other conflict.

Somewhat to my surprise, I have found that there are many veterans like the Rev. Hawkins who never received the medals they earned. Sometimes, particularly at the end of World War II when millions of people were in the service, the medals just got lost in military bureaucracy and paperwork. Or the medals may have been lost in a fire or other misfortune. Very understandably, veterans would like to have the medals they are due. Sometimes it is just to have something tangible to signify the noble work they did for their country. Very often, the veterans are thinking about their children or grandchildren. The former servicemen would like to have something to hand on to the generations coming after them as a reminder that freedom is not free.

That's why my office swings into action when we get requests for medals. I also try to arrange special ceremonies for veterans who desire them. These efforts are the very least we can do for the men and women to whom we owe so much.

But there is something else that we can and should do for the veterans of World War II. Very fittingly, memorials have been built in Washington, D.C., for those who served in Korea and Vietnam. But to this day, there is NO memorial for the men and women who fought and won World War II.

At last, all concerned parties have reached agreement for a design of the World War II memorial. But efforts are still underway to raise funds for this much needed honor. I pledge to do my best to help out with this effort on a bipartisan basis.

Unfortunately, many, many of the men and women who fought in World War II will not live to see the completion of this monument. But we should work as hard as we can to make sure this worthy project is completed - to honor the memories of these fine men and women and to remind ourselves every day of how much they did for all of us.