By Adam Larson
Sen. Orrin Hatch encouraged love for America and its leaders during his Memorial Day address Monday in Orem.
'This is one of the most patriotic areas in this country, in the world in fact,' Hatch said. 'It is a privilege to represent you.'
Hatch began his remarks commenting on a recent visit he and his wife made to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, where 5,000 American soldiers who fought in World War II are buried.
'As we walked through the cemetery with tears in our eyes, we noticed there was a red rose placed at every American grave,' Hatch said. ' by the children of Luxembourg to pay tribute to our soldiers who had done so much to make them free.'
Hatch referred to the comment from Tom Brokaw stating that those soldiers from World War II were Americas'' greatest generation.
'But we have a great generation now,' Hatch said. 'Fighting for us in Afghanistan and Iraq.'
Hatch spoke of his personal experiences with some of the troops over seas.
'We met with a number of them and they were excited about what they were doing,' Hatch said. 'Most I met with believed in what they were doing, and realized how awful and vicious the people are who are trying to destroy the world.'
As a result of his experiences in Iraq, Hatch shared his continued confidence in the importance of American presence in the war on terrorism.
'One thing we do know, we can''t just leave and expect things to be hunky dory,' he said. 'We need to win. And we can, if we don''t lose our guts. Our military hasn''t lost their guts, I''ll tell you that.'
In order to turn the focus of American pride from overseas back home, Hatch strongly encouraged all citizens to respect the symbol of their country, the American flag.
He referenced the June 27, 2006 senate vote on an amendment that would have allowed Congress to ban desecration of the American flag. The vote fell just short of the two-thirds majority required to pass any amendment to the Constitution.
'You can imagine how badly I felt about that,' Hatch said. 'Someday we have to stand up and do everything we can to protect our flag from acts of desecration ... because that is the most important symbol to our troops, one of the most important symbols in our world today.'
In his closing remarks, Hatch reached across political party lines, urging every American to support President Bush and the war against terrorism.
'To all of us, we need to stand behind our president,' Hatch said. 'Whether he be a Democrat or a Republican, during these times of war, of terrorism, of al-Qaeda growth.'
Hatch concluded with a comment he heard while in London about the British prime minister, Tony Blair, who has supported President Bush in the war against terror.
'They said that Tony Blair will always be a marked man because of his willingness to stand up for freedom, his willingness to do what''s right,' Hatch said. 'And so will President Bush and a number of the rest of us. These people who have guts; they live with the problems and mistakes that have been made. But I know one thing; they want the best for our military, the best for our respective countries, and for our people to be free. And that''s what it''s all about. God bless America and God bless all of you.'