[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 45 (Thursday, April 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    IN MEMORY OF PATRICK M. MCKENNA

  (Mr. COLLINS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
an American hero, Capt. Patrick M. McKenna, U.S. Army.
  Mr. Speaker, the most important duty of our Nation's Government is 
protecting its citizens from aggressors in order to secure the 
liberties we all enjoy. However, we call on a select few to carry out 
this most important task. We ask the men and women who guard our Nation 
to stand up in liberty's hour of peril and risk their lives so that we 
may continue to live in ``one nation under God, indivisible, with 
liberty with justice for all.''
  Mr. Speaker, when the call went out, Patrick McKenna stepped to the 
front of the line. He left his home in Columbus, GA, and went to 
faraway lands to stand guard for you and me. He went knowing that he 
may never return home to those he loved. And last week, Mr. Speaker, 
Patrick McKenna paid the price that liberty sometimes demands--he gave 
his life, for you, for me, for his family and for every other American 
who loves this great land in which we live.
  Mr. Speaker, on April 14, Patrick McKenna was killed when the 
Blackhawk helicopter he was piloting was shot down in northern Iraq. 
Although we still do not know exactly why this tragedy occurred, let me 
be very clear in saying that Patrick McKenna's death was not in vain. 
He is as much a hero as the brave men and women who died on the beaches 
of Normandy, in the jungles of Vietnam, in Korea, in the Middle East, 
and the thousands of other brave soldiers who died protecting you and 
me.
  So, Mr. Speaker, the next time you see the American flag waving atop 
this Capitol building, thank soldiers like Patrick McKenna. Mr. 
Speaker, the next time you drive down Constitution Avenue, past our 
National Archives building, knowing that our Constitution remains 
proudly displayed inside, thank soldiers like Patrick McKenna. And Mr. 
Speaker, as you watch your grandchildren grow up in a world that 
remains unstable, you can rest assured they will live in an America 
which will continue to be ``the land of the free, and the home of the 
brave''--because of heroes like Patrick McKenna.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McNulty). The Chair would ask the 
Members and guests who are present to rise in a moment of silence in 
the memory of Patrick McKenna. Let us recognize him and all those who 
lost their lives in that tragic incident.
  (A moment of silence was observed.)

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