Washington, D.C. - Ninety years ago this month, President Woodrow Wilson stood in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and said of America’s fallen soldiers: "We are expected to put the utmost energy, of every power that we have, into the service of our fellow men, never sparing ourselves, not condescending to think of what is going to happen to ourselves, but ready, if need be, to go to the utter length of self-sacrifice."

Today, American troops are again in harm’s way risking their lives in defense of freedom and democracy. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we are confronting forces opposed to these values. They represent the darkness of oppression, fanaticism and fear. But America - led by its troops - will prevail. To those brave men and women who have given their lives in this pursuit, I join my colleagues in recognizing their noble sacrifice.