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Presidential Citizens Medal Recipient Claude M. Kicklighter
LT. GEN. CLAUDE M. KICKLIGHTER'S SPEECH DURING THE
`DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY'
(Senate - May 10, 1994)
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, in a little less than 1 month, the world will commemorate the 50th anniversary of `D-day,' the invasion of Europe that signaled the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. As a veteran of the invasion, I remember how excited we were with our progress as we quickly pushed the enemy back into Germany. As we got closer to Germany, though, our enthusiasm was severely and depressingly dampened as Allied units began to liberate concentration camps.
I will never forget how shocked and sickened I was by what I found at Buchenwald. It was a place filled with people who were starved, diseased, and barely alive. How anyone could survive such an environment was amazing, and how anyone could create such a Hell was incomprehensive. For the loss of better words, I, and my fellow liberators, were aghast and infuriated at what we discovered at that camp and its gruesome horror was permanently burned into our memories.
As time marches on, and the bizarre era of German history known as nazism grows distant, younger generations run the danger of forgetting, or worse yet, never knowing the atrocities of the madmen of the Third Reich. It is for that reason that events, such as the commemorative ceremony that was held last month, down the hall and in the rotunda, is so important. By gathering camp survivors; camp liberators; government, business, and religious leaders, we can ensure that those who died in the camps or fighting the evils of Hitler's twisted ideology are remembered, and; most importantly, that the Holocaust is never forgotten.
Mr. President, as you know, last month's ceremony was a very emotional one. I was especially moved by the remarks of Lt. Gen. Claude M. Kicklighter and would like to share them with my friends in the Senate and ask unanimous consent that they be placed in the Record following my remarks.
There being no objection, the remarks were ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Remarks by Lt. Gen. Claude M. Kicklighter, U.S. Army Retired
Mr. Vice President, Members of the Senate and House, Mr. Ambassadors, Mr. Secretary and so many other distinguished guests, especially survivors, liberators and rescuers, ladies and gentlemen.
It is with pride, humility and gratitude that I accept the General Eisenhower Liberation Medal on behalf of millions of brave men and women who liberated Europe; freed the captives from the death camps; attained victory as they brought the most destructive war in history to an end. A grateful nation does not remember, especially the courage of all those who gave all their tomorrows so that this tyranny could be destroyed and free men and women could once again walk in the Sun, at peace. Today, I am honored to be in the presence of so many patriots and heroes in this special place and on this special occasion.
Fifty years ago, we were engaged in a life and death struggle against the worst tyranny in the history of mankind. A dark period in which civilization as we know it was almost lost. A war in which 15 million men and women of all nations were killed in battle. Another 38 million men, women, and children lost their lives as this war swept across their homelands. Of these, 8 to 10 million were murdered in the concentration camps--only God knows how many. Today, it is impossible to comprehend the magnitude of that tragedy, any more than we can understand the loss of one precious child--a child like Anne Frank.
Early one morning in June of 1944, the liberators jumped from the sky, and stormed across the beaches into Normandy. They won that crucial battle and kept on winning, as they charged across Europe, changing history as they went. In that march, they discovered the concentration camps and their unspeakable horrors. There began a new battle, one fought with a different kind of courage and with a special compassion, as the liberators sought to save the lives of thousands of survivors, who were broken physically and emotionally and most were at the brink of death.
Amid the suffering and dying in the death camps had been whispered a common prayer: `God, let there be survivors who can bear witness to this horrible nightmare.' The God who is the Father of us all, heard those prayers and made the survivors and their liberators and rescuers the conscience of this Nation and this world. The fact that we are gathered here this morning is an answer to those prayers.
As I look around this audience, I see many friends with whom I was privileged to take a very moving journey just 16 months ago, which Mr. Lerman talked about earlier. A journey with the survivors and liberators of the death camps. That journey began in those camps and ended on the beaches of Normandy. We walked together, we wept together, we prayed together, as we visited those monuments of man's inhumanity to man, and the military cemeteries, where lie the liberators of Europe. We gathered soil and sand that was stained with the precious and innocent blood of so many, and we returned home, forever changed. That soil and sand rests today in a place of honor in the Hall of Remembrance, under the eternal flame in the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
A few days ago, I again visited the Hall of Remembrance. As I looked at the container holding that soil, silent voices reminded me, that we must never forget. The silent voices charge those of us who know the truth about this evil to join the ranks of the survivors and liberators, and become messengers, teachers, and sentries so the world will never forget what happened in those dark and depraved days.
We must work and pray for peace--but not peace at any price and not just the absence of war, but a peace that celebrates the triumph of freedom and human dignity. If we remember, if we learn from this history, if we prepare, World War II and all its tragedies may become known as the last world war.
Sadly, the awful history of the 1930's and 1940's is today, unknown by many. The young of today and future generations must be warned and protected. We must teach our children, and they their children. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is a living, teaching, speaking witness that is making a difference in the world, through all those who visit. My visit recalled to mind the adage that the only thing good men must do to let evil men succeed is to do nothing.
Even as this soul and flame reminds us of the suffering of just 50 short years ago, they also signify hope. Hope for the future. Hope that comes from the knowledge that good men and women were willing to sacrifice their all to destroy evil. This strong, free, and beautiful America in which we live today was given to us by those brave men and women who had the courage to confront and conquer evil, as they have done throughout our history and as they will continue to do.
The voices from beyond the grave and the voices of those who died in the concentration camps and the voices of those who built this Hall of Remembrance all cry out that their sacrifices must not have been in vain. They say to us: `You must never be guilty of doing nothing. You must never again let this terrible thing happen.'
Never again.
Never again.
I am humbled and honored to receive this award--God bless America.
Biography
Claude M. (Mick) Kicklighter was sworn in August 10, 2001 as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and Planning. Prior to that, he served as the Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. On January 24, 2001, Mick Kicklighter was designated to lead the office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. On June 27, 2001, President Bush nominated Mick Kicklighter to be Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning. In this role, he serves as senior advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on strategic planning, policy research and analysis, and program evaluation. This office is responsible for development of the VA Integrated Strategic Plan and the Secretary's Annual Statement. It also manages the Department's program evaluation process which is intended to assess whether current programs and services administered by VA are meeting their legislative intent and making a positive impact on the lives of veterans and their families.
After the tragic attack on September 11, 2001, Mick was selected to direct VA's Crisis Response team and was selected to establish and direct the new office of Operations, Security and Preparedness.
Mick Kicklighter was born and raised in Glennville, Georgia. He graduated from Mercer University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in biology and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Field Artillery. He earned a Master of Arts Degree in Management of National Resources from the School of Business Administration, George Washington University. He is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
His overseas tours include France, Germany, The Netherlands, Iran, and two tours in Vietnam.
Mick commanded at every level from Company through Division, having commanded the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks from June 1984 until September 1986. He commanded the United States Army Security Assistance Center. Following that assignment he served as the Chief of Staff of the Army Material Command, Alexandria, Virginia. He served in staff assignments from Battalion to Headquarters, Department of Army, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He served as Director of the Army Staff from May 1987 to July 1989. From 1989 to 1991 Mick Kicklighter commanded the US Army Pacific. Upon completing this assignment he retired from active duty as an Army Lieutenant General. In July 1991 he became the Director of our Nation's effort to thank and honor our WWII veterans as we commemorated the 50th Anniversary of WWII. He served as Deputy Under Secretary of the Army for International Affairs from September 1995 until July 1999.
Mick Kicklighter's awards include the Distinguished Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, the Army General Staff Identification Badge, and the Chaplin's Corp awarded him the Order of Aaron and Hur. He also received the following foreign awards: Argentina Order of May, French Order National Du Merite; Korean Order of National Security Gugseon Medal; and the Silver Honorary Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia.
Mick Kicklighter received the Eisenhower Liberation Medal, presented by the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, on April 6, 1994 in the Rotunda of the Capitol with the Vice President attending. The President awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal to Mick Kicklighter on April 21, 1995, at a White House ceremony; and on December 22, 1995, the Secretary of Defense presented Mick Kicklighter with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. On 24 April 1998, Secretary of the Army awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service; and on 27 August 1999 Mick Kicklighter also received the Department of Defense's Distinguished Civilian Service Award.
For the past three years Mick Kicklighter served as Chair of the Board for Habitat for Humanity, International.
Mick Kicklighter is married to the former Elizabeth Exley. Mick and Betty have three adult children - Elizabeth, Claude, Jr., and Richard. January 2002
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Citizens Medal History
