
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 1, 1993                   TAG: 9306010239
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GOODLATTE: `WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER'

Rep. Bob Goodlatte told a Memorial Day gathering of veterans that the United States' military budget should not be cut so deeply that it harms the nation's safety.

"The defense of our nation cannot be shortchanged," said Goodlatte, a Roanoke Republican. "We must make sure that our armed forces are not used as a piggybank to fund new social programs."

That would be a dishonor to veterans, he said.

During a speech at Lee Plaza in downtown Roanoke, Goodlatte did not go into specifics about what level of military cuts he would consider harmful.

The day was left mainly for talking about past wars - and about the efforts of the men and women who fought in them.

"We will always remember we owe much of our happiness and hope for the future to you," he told the crowd.

About 200 people - almost all of them veterans - attended the 10 a.m. ceremony.

The Rev. Thomas O'Dell of St. John's Episcopal Church gave a prayer for peace. He said we live in a time of "suspicion, bitterness and warfare on every side." He prayed for a "renewed vision" of peace that would help end killing in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia.

by CNB