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REPUBLICAN PRESS
RELEASE
May 27, 2007
CRAIG HONORS IDAHO VETERAN BURIED IN SOUTHERN
FRANCE
--Head of the U.S. Naval fleet in Europe and VA
Secretary Jim Nicholson join him at Sunday’s Memorial tribute-- Monday
Craig will be with Italian Prime Minister to honor Americans buried in
Italy
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093
(Draguignan, France) On Sunday U.S. Senator Larry Craig, U.S. Secretary
of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson and U.S. Navy Admiral Henry Ulrich,
the man in charge of the U.S. Navy in Europe, gathered with local French
citizens and military dignitaries in the south of France to pay tribute
to the more than 1,100 Americans buried and memorialized there.
Five of them were from Craig’s home state of Idaho, and Craig spoke of
one as an example of the others.
"Lt. Col. Harold Senften was born and raised in the small Idaho
community of Castleford. I was in Castleford just the other day,
visiting a school. Harold attended the University of Idaho, where he
studied architecture and while there he joined the ROTC," said Craig,
the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. "I
too attended the University of Idaho. While I never knew Harold, he
represents the kind of people we have in Idaho, and throughout America.
He sacrificed his life to save others so that we today can live in peace
and freedom."
According to Senften’s sister, Juanita Park, who lives in King Hill,
Idaho, not far from Mountain Home Air Force Base, her brother was a
military pilot at the time World War II started.
"Sadly, Harold’s plane went down over the Mediterranean ocean. But while
he passed away more than sixty years ago, his contribution to freedom
should never be forgotten," Craig said.
Senften’s name is inscribed on a wall at the Rhone American Cemetery
along with approximately 300 Americans who died in that area but whose
bodies were never recovered.
Craig's vist to the southern French community is part of a week-long
series of events Craig is attending throughout Europe to pay tribute to
the Americans buried throughout that continent.
On Monday, Memorial Day, Senator Craig and VA Secretary Jim Nicholson
will be with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi to commemorate the
1,100 Americans buried and memorialized at the American battlefield
cemetery near Rome.
The Idaho Republican noted that during World War II, an average of
approximately 2,200 Americans were dying each month in the fight for
liberty.
"General George Patton said that, ‘It is foolish and wrong to mourn the
men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived,’" Craig
said. "We must never forget their sacrifices. Because of them, we are
free today."
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Larry Scott
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