Ken Calvert: “I rise today to praise the 3,417 men and women who have placed their lives on the line for their country, have taken…”

“I rise today to praise the 3,417 men and women who have placed their lives on the line for their country, have taken risks above and beyond the call of duty and, because of their extraordinary bravery and action during crisis, have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Yesterday I introduced the National Medal of Honor Memorial Act. This bill designates the memorial being built at the Riverside National Cemetery as a national memorial. Since this will be the only publicly accessible memorial honoring all 3,417 recipients of the Medal of Honor at a single location, I think it is only fitting to identify it as a national memorial. Riverside National Cemetery is the ideal location for this memorial. There are two Medal of Honor recipients buried there; 102 recipients are originally from the State of California. At its capacity, the cemetery will inter approximately 1,400,000 persons, making it the largest national cemetery in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the strong support from my colleagues. Seventy of my colleagues have decided to be original cosponsors of this; 100 percent of the California delegation, and the chairman and the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. I look forward to its passage.”