[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 28, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H6498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN HONOR OF DETECTIVE JOHN M. GIBSON AND OFFICER J.J. CHESTNUT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Burr of North Carolina). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, as a representative of the people of the 
Third Congressional District of Maryland, I rise today to speak in 
honor of Detective John M. Gibson and Officer J.J. Chestnut of the 
Capitol Hill Police.
  These last few days here on Capitol Hill have been somber ones and 
many of us have been given to thoughts of the abruptness of life; how 
one minute you can accept the greeting of an officer as you walk to 
work and the next you learn that you will never hear those words again, 
that he has been slain in a heroic stand to save your life and the 
lives of your coworkers and hundreds of strangers.
  These are sad times, Mr. Speaker. Yet we should not, we cannot, allow 
the sadness to overwhelm the message of the lives of Officers Chestnut 
and Gibson. There is a message rooted in the ideas of democracy and 
duty. Democracy has a price. In a day and age when life for so many of 
us is so good, some of us may have forgotten that.
  Tragically, the Chestnut and Gibson families know that the price for 
their father and husband was life itself. But it was their sense of 
duty, their commitment to protecting this building that stands for 
democracy and the people in it, that should force all of us to consider 
our own duty to democracy.
  It is said that Robert E. Lee once wrote to his son, and I quote: 
``Duty, then, is the sublimest word of our language. Do your duty in 
all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less.''
  I wish to offer my condolences to the Chestnut and Gibson families. I 
want to tell them that the lives of these great men and what they did 
for me, my colleagues, and all America last Friday will always be 
remembered and honored, but also remembered and honored for what it 
meant to the twin ideals of democracy and duty.
  I want them to know that even if Officers Gibson and Chestnut had 
never heard these words from General Lee, they lived them, nonetheless. 
These two men could not have done more for me, and I hope to use their 
example to never wish to do less.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Cardin) for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, as the representative of the Third District of Virginia, 
I rise to add my voice to the chorus of supporters of families and 
friends of Special Agent John Gibson and Officer Jacob Chestnut in 
these painful hours.
  ``Senseless'' is the word that keeps coming back to me as I think of 
the loss to the families and to our community of the lives and 
contributions of these two fine public servants. The only thing that 
was not senseless about the tragedy was their bravery and sense of duty 
in sacrificing their own lives to protect the lives of others and to 
keep the people's House open to the public.
  Any loss of life as a result of tragedy is painful to the entire 
community, but when it comes as a result of a senseless tragedy such as 
this, we also feel anger, disgust and bewilderment over the loss of 
their lives and the suffering brought upon their families, friends, and 
our Nation as a result of a senseless act. No words are ever adequate 
under these circumstances. Yet I wish to join the long line of my 
colleagues in Congress to express my deep sorrow and sympathy to the 
families of these brave officers and to try to find a way to come to 
grips with this tragedy in our midst.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and honor the lives and contributions of 
Special Agent John Gibson and Officer J.J. Chestnut to this Congress 
and to this community and to our Nation.

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