[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      STATEMENT ON H.R. 4090--PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER MEDAL OF VALOR

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                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 1998

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in October of 1996, Captain 
Brian Alkire of the Sheffield Township, Indiana Fire Department ran 
into a raging structure fire to warn seven other firefighters of a fire 
burning in the attic above them. Before he was able to escape with the 
last firefighter, the roof collapsed, trapping him and Firefighter 
Louis Lawson in the burning building. Even though he lost his 
protective headgear in the collapse, Captain Alkire continued to search 
the toxic, superheated, and smokey room for his colleague before 
emerging from the structure completely on fire. He saved the lives of 
those seven firefighters, but as a result of his efforts he received 
several weeks in the Wishard Burn Unit, numerous skin-grafting 
surgeries, and months of occupational therapy.
  In May of 1998, Baltimore Police Officer Marc Camarote rushed into a 
working structure fire protected only by his service uniform to rescue 
two people from a blaze that demolished the entire house. February 1, 
1997 found Firefighter Martin Gotte in a burning building across the 
street form his firehouse, his arms around a little girl whom he rushed 
from certain death to the skilled hands of first responders who 
resuscitated her back to life. Lieutenant Walter E. Webb from 
Washington, D.C.; Lieutenant Earnest B. Copeland from Dallas, Texas; 
Firefighter Anthony Glover, Nashville, Tennessee; the list goes on and 
on.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, I could fill the Record today with names and 
stories about first responders who have showed such great valor that it 
might rival the volume of the federal tax code. Every day across 
America the story is the same, public safety officers, be they 
firefighters, emergency services personnel, or law enforcement 
officials, leave their families to join the thin red and blue line that 
protects us from harm. They put their lives on the line as a shield 
between death and the precious gift of life.
  It is proper then, if not perhaps a bit late, that we should 
commemorate their dedication and sacrifice with a Medal of Valor that 
carries the full weight of the Congress and the President of the United 
States. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support our military and our dedicated 
soldiers, sailors, and marines, but I think we must constantly be 
reminded that we have a corps of domestic defenders who are deserving 
of the same level of support and attention. As our military defenders 
are honored for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, so too 
should we honor our corps of domestic defenders.
  Of course, any of you who are familiar with the first responder 
community will remark that they are probably the last group of people 
to stand on formality and decoration. Most of them would, on their day 
off, put their lives at risk to save even a cat in a tree, and they 
would do so without hesitation. Earlier this year, Mr. Speaker, our 
District of Columbia Fire Department lost a firefighter, Sergeant John 
Carter. It is both tragic and typical of the first responder community 
that Sergeant Carter came in to work before his shift started to 
respond to that fire. Mr. Speaker, this kind of dedication is beyond 
our power to adequately commemorate even on the House Floor.
  In my own Congressional District in October, Mr. Speaker, the Malvern 
Fire Company will dedicate a monument to their fallen first responders. 
Across the country, communities will recognize the 94 fire and 
emergency services personnel who have lost their lives in connection 
with their duties as a public safety officers this year. This number 
I'm sure, is supplemented half-again by fallen law enforcement 
officers. I am pleased then, Mr. Speaker, to give my full support to 
H.R. 4090, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor. While we cannot, 
in the words of Abraham Lincoln, with our poor power add or detract 
from the gallantry of their work with our actions, we can honor first 
responders with a Medal that will identify them as heroes to all 
Americans.
  While it would be impossible to name every first responder deserving 
of this award let me, Mr. Speaker, conclude my remarks by offering the 
names of fourteen first-responders, in addition to those already 
mentioned, who would be a good place for the newly formed committee to 
start: Louis Giancursio--Rochester, NY; Mark E. Gardner--Baltimore, MD; 
Anthony W. Rivera--San Francisco, CA; Robert Crabtree--Carboro, NC; 
Jeffery A. Barkley--Phoenix, NY; John Barrett--Bronx, NY; William 
Benevelli--Boston, MA; Eric Britton--James Island, SC; Myles Burke--
Philadelphia, PA; William Callahan--Bronx, NY; Robert Foster--Fort 
Worth, TX; Landon West--Fort Worth, TX; Mike Lachman--Fort Worth, TX; 
and Cody Stilwell--Fort Worth, TX.

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