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WORLD WAR II
MEMORIAL CAMPAIGN
AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS
COMMISSION
Frederick W. Smith
National Co-Chairman
Chairman, President, CEO
FDX Corporation
Senator Robert J. Dole
National Chairman
December 22, 1998
Dear Friends and Fellow Veterans,
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in some
small measure during the dedication of this well-deserved tribute to the
Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. Monuments of metal and stone will never
adequately portray the suffering and sacrifice that they commemorate. They can
never be grand enough to embody the courage and faithful service of the men and
women whose deeds they represent. No sculptor could carve the image, no poet
could inscribe the words, which could make us feel the sting of battle or the
sorrow felt for fallen comrades. Worst of all they can never replace the loved
ones whose lives were the price of victory.
These monuments can, however, demonstrate our gratitude and ensure that
subsequent generations somehow come to understand the magnitude of the debt they
owe to those who have preceded them. The veterans of the Battle of the Bulge can
never be repaid for what they went through in those now covered, frozen forests
of the Ardennes during December of 1944. We can only thank them and try to
ensure that their valor and patriotism are not forgotten. This mourning you
dedicate here today will help to tell their story and remind us all of the
enormity of their sacrifice for their country and for freedom in the world.
Signed Bob Dole
Courthouse Plaza 11, Suite
501, 2300 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 1-800-639-4WW2 or
703-696-6650/5127 Fax: 703-696-6667
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