Veteran's Affairs

Honoring Our Fallen

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

By: Senator Jim Bunning

Since May of 1868 Americans have honored those brave men and women who made the supreme sacrifice in protecting our freedoms. Memorial Day did not become a national holiday until 1971, when Congress set aside the last Monday in May as a day of remembrance for our nation’s fallen airmen, soldiers, sailors, and marines. As we celebrate on this year’s Memorial Day, we are engaged in a Global War on Terrorism to protect the freedoms we all love and cherish. On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives when terrorist thugs who had no respect for human life attacked our homeland. That night from the Oval Office, President Bush declared a Global War on Terrorism. As with past conflicts, when the American way of life was threatened the United States Armed Forces answered the call to duty. Eleven Kentuckians have lost their lives fighting for our way of life during the War on Terrorism in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are all heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice, so that you and I can live in a country where democracy prevails. Below are the names of the eleven Kentuckians who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan and Iraq by hostile fire. Please say a prayer for them and the loved ones they left behind. Michael Dewayne Acklin II, Age 25, from Louisville. Gary Brent Coleman, Age 24, from Pikeville. Nicholas James Dieruf, Age 21, from Versailles. Jeffrey Carl Graham, Age 24, from Elizabethtown. James William Harlan, Age 44, from Owensboro. Robert Lewis Henderson II, Age 33, from Alvaton. James Thomas Hoffman, Age 41, from Whitesburg. Darrin Keith Potter, Age 24, from Louisville. James Edward Powell, Age 26, from Radcliff. George Scott Rentschler, Age 31, from Louisville. Justin Andrew Scott, Age 22, from Bellevue. I ask my fellow Kentuckians to take time from there long weekend to remember the sacrifices made by these brave men and their loving families. Kentuckians owe a debt of gratitude to these eleven men as well as the thousands of Kentuckians who have died for our country in previous wars to preserve the values and ideals that we all hold deeply. As the War on Terrorism continues there will undoubtably be more casualties. America must stay the course in our current struggle to bring a true democracy to the Middle East. We must bring the fight to the terrorists and not let them bring the fight to America’s shores. For over 200 years, America has stood as the beacon of hope for those who are less fortunate. The eleven soldiers who have perished are the light in that beacon. May God bless America and God bless those who sacrificed so much in the name of freedom and democracy.

May 2004 Columns

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