[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               IN TRIBUTE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JESSE L. JACKSON, JR.

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 28, 1998

  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, with a heavy heart I come 
before you today. On Friday, July 24, we lost two members of our 
congressional family: Capitol Police Officer Jacob J. Chestnut and 
Special Agent John Gibson.
  Although tragic, these men died in service to their nation, in 
service to us. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, ``Greater love has no 
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.''
  With faith and trust in God and the help of family and friends the 
Chestnut and Gibson families will endure this seemingly unbearable 
time. I hope that the families of these two men--genuine American 
heroes--take comfort in knowing that their husbands, their fathers, 
their brothers, their sons, did not die in vain. By laying down their 
lives, these two men upheld our most cherished principles of liberty 
and democracy. I speak for all Americans when I say I am grateful for 
and honored by their courage, service and sacrifice.
  While we mourn their death, we also celebrate the lives of Officer 
Chestnut and Special Agent Gibson. All Americans can rest assured that 
their freedom and the future of this great land remain intact because 
Officers Chestnut and Gibson died preserving liberty so that we may 
survive in freedom. We all are forever indebted to them.
  On behalf of the people of the Second District of Illinois, I thank 
Officers Chestnut and Gibson for giving the ultimate sacrifice so that 
all Americans can sleep tonight under a security blanket of freedom. 
Their earthly lives may have drawn to a close, but their lives with God 
are eternal. Psalm 30 reminds us that ``Weeping may endure for a night, 
but joy comes in the morning.''

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