[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 91 (Thursday, July 14, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               MORALE IN OUR MILITARY AT AN ALL-TIME LOW

  (Mr. DORNAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, on Thanksgiving, I took two of my 
grandchildren to the roof of the Capitol. They helped me fly 196 flags 
for the 30 men killed in action in Somalia and the 166 who were 
wounded.
  This July 4, just a few days ago, I went back to the Capitol and flew 
flags for the families of Michael Durant's helicopter crew and the two 
senior sergeants who went to their rescue, sacrified their lives, and 
won the Medal of Honor for their heroic action.
  There was a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House on May 23 for 
these two deceased heroes. Both of their fathers considered not shaking 
the President's hand. One of them actually did refuse to shake his 
hand. After a long discussion, this father told the President that he 
was not qualified to lead a military operation, that he did not feel he 
had the experience to be Commander-in-Chief, and that he, as a father, 
was personally offended that Mr. Clinton flew Mr. Aideed, the warlord 
killer of his son, down to Kenya using Marine guards and an Army 
airplane.
  Mr. Clinton said, ``We are not in the business of assassinating world 
leaders.'' Aideed, a world leader? And the father asked, ``But it is 
all right for my son and 18 other Rangers and Special Ops guys to 
die?''
  Then the father told the President he had nothing more to say to him.
  The New York Times knew that story and spiked it. USA Today spiked 
it. CNN spiked it. And I intend to find out why.
  I spoke to this father just a few days before I flew a flag for his 
son. And, yesterday I spoke to a naval officer who felt humiliated that 
he was asked to carry hors d'oeuvres and finger sandwiches at the White 
House during a partisan, political reception.
  This is about the 11th incident directed against the military topped 
off this last break by Mr. Clinton sending condolences and referring to 
a Communist dictator Kim Il-song, as a great leader, who upon his death 
the world cheered, the world of liberty that is.
  Mr. Speaker, the morale in the military is at an all-time low, and I 
will later do a 5-minute special order and document the specific 
reasons why.

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