June 20, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rockefeller Celebrates West Virginia's Birthday with Senate Tribute
Congressional Record statement commemorates West Virginia becoming the 35th state 145 years ago
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Washington, DC (HNN) – To commemorate the 145th anniversary of West Virginia's admission to the Union, Senator Jay Rockefeller on June 20 will offer the following tribute in the Congressional Record for West Virginia Day.
Senator Rockefeller's remarks follow:
As a Senator from West Virginia, I rise today to pay tribute to our state on the commemoration of our admittance into the Union on this day in 1863 – and to honor the nearly 2 million people who are proud to call it home.
When people think of West Virginia their thoughts turn to our mountains, our rolling green hills, and rivers. It's a place of immense natural beauty and scenic wonders. Still others may think of our most abundant natural resource, coal, or even our steel. And, every fall, many college sports fans turn their thoughts to our incredible football teams.
West Virginia, without question, is all of these things. But what truly sets us apart from other places is our people. West Virginians are the hardest working, nicest people you'll ever have the chance to meet. They're the reason that so many people choose to come back again and again to our state. They're real people who possess an abundant spirit of hope, optimism, and authenticity. More than anything else, they are the heart and soul of our great state.
So it's seems only fitting on this West Virginia Day, we pause for a few moments and think about the lasting contributions that our coal miners, steel workers, teachers, public servants, and next door neighbors have made not just on our state, but on our nation.
West Virginia is rooted in rich culture. Our Appalachian heritage is immortalized in song and prose. It's a place where the pioneering spirit is still alive and well. Our communities aren't just bound together by zip codes, but in sharing responsibility to care for and look out for each other. We are still a place where neighbor helping neighbor is a way of life, and our children are raised to honor their family and to love our country.
West Virginia is place where values such as compassion, self-reliance, loyalty, love, unselfishness, and faith are both timely and timeless.
This is the West Virginia that embraced me and later my family. These are the people who helped to give me a true sense of purpose, and shape me deep into my core.
This senator is incredibly proud of our coal miners that do the hard-work of mining the coal that provides the nation with its electricity, and of our steel workers who forged the tracks for our nation's railroads, the girders for our skyscrapers, and the bridges that span the country; I am proud of those West Virginians who are now building planes, trucks, and doing cutting-edge research into disease prevention and biometrics; of those West Virginians who have dedicated themselves to be our communities' guardians as first-responders, or in the National Guard; and of those in our state that have entered into public service – especially our teachers -- and of those rural health care professionals who provide essential, and life-saving services to some of our most vulnerable.
And of course, our entire state is tremendously proud of those West Virginians who have earned the honored title of veteran.
Emblazoned on our state flag is our motto, "Mountaineers Are Always Free." It's in that spirit that West Virginians have always answered the call of duty in our country's time of need.
Earlier this week, the Senate honored Frank Buckles, the last surviving solider from World War I, who now lives in Charles Town. As a teenager he went to war to defeat the Kaiser, and he was imprisoned by the Japanese for three and one half years. He is truly a living legend, a touchstone to our past, and we're so proud to have him in WV.
West Virginia's sons and daughters have fought on the Korean peninsula, in the jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Afghanistan, and the desert of Iraq – and in conflicts in between.
We always have a special place in our heart for our Gold Star Mothers – and for those who gave their last full measure of devotion, and now rest in fields that were once made infamous by war.
I could go on and say many more flattering things about our beloved state, our people, and our future, but as West Virginians we know that we are truly blessed. Perhaps that's why humility is one of our greatest virtues, because we know that no matter what challenges we face, as a state we will stand together, harness our "can-do" spirit, and overcome them. That's what we do. We are fighters, in every sense of the word.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rockefeller Celebrates West Virginia's Birthday with Senate Tribute
Congressional Record statement commemorates West Virginia becoming the 35th state 145 years ago
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Washington, DC (HNN) – To commemorate the 145th anniversary of West Virginia's admission to the Union, Senator Jay Rockefeller on June 20 will offer the following tribute in the Congressional Record for West Virginia Day.
Senator Rockefeller's remarks follow:
As a Senator from West Virginia, I rise today to pay tribute to our state on the commemoration of our admittance into the Union on this day in 1863 – and to honor the nearly 2 million people who are proud to call it home.
When people think of West Virginia their thoughts turn to our mountains, our rolling green hills, and rivers. It's a place of immense natural beauty and scenic wonders. Still others may think of our most abundant natural resource, coal, or even our steel. And, every fall, many college sports fans turn their thoughts to our incredible football teams.
West Virginia, without question, is all of these things. But what truly sets us apart from other places is our people. West Virginians are the hardest working, nicest people you'll ever have the chance to meet. They're the reason that so many people choose to come back again and again to our state. They're real people who possess an abundant spirit of hope, optimism, and authenticity. More than anything else, they are the heart and soul of our great state.
So it's seems only fitting on this West Virginia Day, we pause for a few moments and think about the lasting contributions that our coal miners, steel workers, teachers, public servants, and next door neighbors have made not just on our state, but on our nation.
West Virginia is rooted in rich culture. Our Appalachian heritage is immortalized in song and prose. It's a place where the pioneering spirit is still alive and well. Our communities aren't just bound together by zip codes, but in sharing responsibility to care for and look out for each other. We are still a place where neighbor helping neighbor is a way of life, and our children are raised to honor their family and to love our country.
West Virginia is place where values such as compassion, self-reliance, loyalty, love, unselfishness, and faith are both timely and timeless.
This is the West Virginia that embraced me and later my family. These are the people who helped to give me a true sense of purpose, and shape me deep into my core.
This senator is incredibly proud of our coal miners that do the hard-work of mining the coal that provides the nation with its electricity, and of our steel workers who forged the tracks for our nation's railroads, the girders for our skyscrapers, and the bridges that span the country; I am proud of those West Virginians who are now building planes, trucks, and doing cutting-edge research into disease prevention and biometrics; of those West Virginians who have dedicated themselves to be our communities' guardians as first-responders, or in the National Guard; and of those in our state that have entered into public service – especially our teachers -- and of those rural health care professionals who provide essential, and life-saving services to some of our most vulnerable.
And of course, our entire state is tremendously proud of those West Virginians who have earned the honored title of veteran.
Emblazoned on our state flag is our motto, "Mountaineers Are Always Free." It's in that spirit that West Virginians have always answered the call of duty in our country's time of need.
Earlier this week, the Senate honored Frank Buckles, the last surviving solider from World War I, who now lives in Charles Town. As a teenager he went to war to defeat the Kaiser, and he was imprisoned by the Japanese for three and one half years. He is truly a living legend, a touchstone to our past, and we're so proud to have him in WV.
West Virginia's sons and daughters have fought on the Korean peninsula, in the jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Afghanistan, and the desert of Iraq – and in conflicts in between.
We always have a special place in our heart for our Gold Star Mothers – and for those who gave their last full measure of devotion, and now rest in fields that were once made infamous by war.
I could go on and say many more flattering things about our beloved state, our people, and our future, but as West Virginians we know that we are truly blessed. Perhaps that's why humility is one of our greatest virtues, because we know that no matter what challenges we face, as a state we will stand together, harness our "can-do" spirit, and overcome them. That's what we do. We are fighters, in every sense of the word.
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