Fedorchak honors veterans at North Dakota Veterans Cemetary on Memorial Day
Mandan, ND – Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) joined state, local, and National Guard officials on Memorial Day to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country during a ceremony at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan.
Check out her remarks below:
Good afternoon.
Thank you, Captain Adams, for your kind introduction, and even more for your service to our country.
Serving as North Dakota’s voice in the U.S. House is the honor of a lifetime.
My husband Mike and I are soaking up the history of our country that engulfs Washington.
Not only are we walking the same ground as our nation’s greatest heroes, but the principles and ideals of our nation are quite literally baked right into the walls, buildings, and architecture of the city.
On the wall of the Energy and Commerce Committee room, where I spend the most time, is a massive representation of the Great Seal of the United States.
It’s about 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall.
This seal is embossed on the wall directly across from where I sit, so I admire it often, especially when my colleagues get a little long winded—not that that ever happens!
We’ve all seen this seal our whole lives.
At the center is a bald eagle with its massive wings spread wide.
The eagle's left talon is filled with arrows.
The eagle’s right talon holds an olive branch.
Peace through Strength is the message.
And the eagle is facing the olive branch, emphasizing our nation’s preference for peace.
We all desire peace—in our world, our nation, our communities, and most certainly in our homes and relationships.
Jesus’s final words to his disciples were “Peace be with you. My peace I leave with you.”
Peace is our goal.
But we must never allow wanting or desiring peace to distract us into pursing or accepting weakness.
Strength makes some people uneasy.
But make no mistake about it.
Strength is the goal of our enemies.
And they are always on the move.
And peace is just a platitude without a way to achieve it.
Strength is, always has been, and always will be the greatest peacekeeping tool of America.
Our nation achieves and projects strength in many ways:
Our education system that prepares people to use their gifts and talents.
Our legal system that provides rules, boundaries, and maintains fairness that is the basis of our trust in government.
Our strength comes from our free and fair elections, the very foundation of our Republic.
And our economic system that provides a predictable environment for people to work, invest and build businesses.
Most certainly, our faith, families, and communities build a nearly indestructible strength from the inside out.
And of course, strength comes from our nation’s military.
North Dakota has always punched above our weight class in this regard.
We have some of the highest military participation rates in the nation.
We have the North Dakota National Guard and Air Guard—the best!
And we are home to 2/3 of our nation’s nuclear triad—one of our greatest investments in peace through strength.
As great as all of these investments are, today, we recognize the most important keepers of peace through strength: Our veterans—especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice by dying to protect the freedom and self governance that defines America.
We can not achieve peace through strength without the brave, selfless men and women who step up to serve in our nation’s military.
It’s a true sacrifice.
For the Navy shipmen, it’s months at sea away from family and friends.
It’s going a full week with little food and no sleep for soldiers training for our special forces.
It was hand-to-hand combat for confederate soldiers.
Miserable wet, cold trench warfare for the men fighting in World War I.
Untold mental and physical abuse for prisoners of war.
It’s being on the ready 24/7 today for the men and women manning missiles in the 91st Missile Wing just an hour from here.
It’s the forever loss captured in the hearts of Gold Star moms and dads.
Our way of life depends on peace through strength and rests upon the commitment to freedom and liberty that every generation of Americans always has and always must embrace through military service.
I’ve been to this beautiful cemetery many times, including three special occasions: The burying of my father, Duane Liffrig, an Army veteran, the burying of my mom, Doris Liffrig, right beside him, and the burying of Mike’s dad, Mike Fedorchak, an Air Force veteran.
Some day, my children will bury my husband Mike, a Navy Veteran, here and me alongside him.
As we look around this magnificent place, the rows of headstones, aligned with precision and impeccably maintained, it’s difficult to express proper reverence.
It’s even more challenging to express proper appreciation for all the people who, through service to our country, have earned a final resting place here.
Personally, I think the caravan of motorcycles—so loud, and powerful—come closest to expressing the reverence and appreciation due on this occasion.
When they come roaring through, it’s a shock to all our senses—the sight of the endless trail of bikes, the thunderous sound of their engines, and the pounding it all creates in every person’s chest.
That display of strength, unity, and unabashed patriotism is an expression of appreciation worthy of this moment.
Worthy of each headstone here that has contributed to the freedom and liberty that America stands for and fights for around the world.
Worthy of each headstone, and all the veterans and Gold Star families here today, who help us realize our goal of Peace through Strength.
The eagle in our Great Seal is able to look toward the olive branch—only because of the strength of the arrows guarding and reinforcing its back.
Thank you for the invitation to be here today to honor those who are the arrows, who gave, and give, their lives to provide the strength we need to achieve the peace we all desire.
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