Dick Durbin: “I would like to take a moment to call attention to a group of our Nation's veterans who participated in a reconciliation…”

“I would like to take a moment to call attention to a group of our Nation's veterans who participated in a reconciliation program with the Japanese Government. From October 11 to October 19, nine veterans of the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Air Corps, and the U.S. Marines who fought bravely in the Pacific theater of World War II and were taken prisoner by Japanese forces traveled to Japan. They were guests of the Japanese Government on a trip of reconciliation and remembrance. Established in 2010, this was the sixth Japanese POW Friendship Program delegation. This program is sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for World War II POWs from the United States, with Japan running similar friendship programs with Australia and Britain. More than 30,000 Allied troops were taken prisoner in Japan, many of them Americans who faced horrific ordeals. Today, 70 years following the end of World War II, this program reflects the journey of forgiveness and resolution between the United States and Japan, as our relationship has developed into one of the most critical in the region. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the veterans who were members of this year's delegation: Joseph DeMott, a U.S. Army Air Corps veteran from Litiz, PA; Arthur Gruenberg, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Camano Island, WA; George Hirschkamp, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Sandpoint, ID; George Rodgers, a U.S. Army veteran from Lynchburg, VA; Jack Warner, a U.S.…”