Today, Congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao (LA-2) passed his resolution, H.Res. 828, to  designate October 24, 2009 as “Louisiana HonorAir Day” and honor the service of World War II Veterans to our Nation. The resolution passed the House by a voice vote.



TRANSCRIPT:

Mr. Speaker,

I rise today in support of H.Res. 828, to designate October 24, 2009 as “Louisiana HonorAir Day” and honor the invaluable service of World War II Veterans to our Nation.

October 24, 2009, marked the 20th chartered flight of World War II veterans from Louisiana to DC through Louisiana HonorAir to visit the National World War II Memorial.

Louisiana HonorAir’s mission is to provide every World War II veteran, who is physically able to travel, the opportunity to view their World War II Memorial for the first time.

World War II veterans are granted a chartered flight from Louisiana to Washington, D.C., for a day-long, all-expenses-paid trip to visit the National World War II Memorial, the Marine Corps Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial and other memorials, and to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

The World War II Memorial was dedicated in 2004 for a generation whose youngest member is in their late seventies. Therefore, many of the men and women who fought and sacrificed for our country have not had the opportunity, or ability, to visit.

Sadly, a few of the World War II veterans scheduled to go on the October 24th flight passed away or became too ill to travel and were therefore unable to be properly honored for their tremendous sacrifices.

As Louisiana HonorAir prepares to fly its final flight on April 10, 2010, I am proud that its last three fall flights were out of New Orleans, Louisiana, home to the National World War II Museum.

Mr. Speaker, I had the great opportunity to welcome home several members of the veterans community on their flights back from Washington, DC three weeks ago, and I have to say that from the reception that I received and from the faces of the many members who came back from Washington, DC on that HonorAir flight, they were very grateful and honored to be able to participate in the program.

Under the leadership of T.D. Smith, the Louisiana HonorAir reminds our nations World War II veterans how indebted we are to them for service.

As the son of a war veteran, I consider it a personal honor to sponsor this legislation, and I strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.Res. 828.

Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.