Todd Young: “I rise today to salute Vermillion County, IN, on the occasion of its bicentennial, which occurred earlier this month. I…”

“I rise today to salute Vermillion County, IN, on the occasion of its bicentennial, which occurred earlier this month. I begin this tribute thousands of miles and an ocean away from West Central Indiana, in Iejima, which is an island off the coast of Okinawa. There in Iejima, in a park by the side of a road, stands a small monument made of white stone. There is a bronze plaque that is placed near its base, and it reads: At this spot the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy, Ernie Pyle, 18th April 1945. They weren't the only ones who lost a friend that day. No other writer so vividly captured the experiences of the American soldier or better chronicled the war that they fought during World War II than Ernie Pyle. The warmth and directness of Ernie Pyle's columns channeled the voice of the GI and communicated it clearly to the countrymen back home. Pyle was by so many accounts America's greatest war correspondent. He was a shy farm boy from the town of Dana in Vermillion County. In fact, the house he was born in is still there. His writing style reflected his upbringing in the warmth of smalltown America and Hoosier common sense. That monument that I mentioned near the spot he died is just one of the incredible things that Vermillion County's people have accomplished and how the values instilled there made them possible. Now, I will allow that not all Americans have heard of this part of Indiana.…”