[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10894-H10895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE AND A THANK YOU TO KEITH PUTNAM, A HERO FROM HANAHAN, SOUTH 
                                CAROLINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Myrick). Under a previous order of the

[[Page H10895]]

House, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SANFORD. Madam Speaker, I rise today because in many ways we are 
a country in search of heroes. We look back through the history pages 
for heroes. We look at George Washington. We look at Patton. We look at 
William Wallace. We look at Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his group of 
bedraggled soldiers in the battle of Gettysburg. We look at movies, 
where there are all kinds of different heroes that may or may not have 
existed, but we look at them in movies.
  We look around the world for heroes. In Tiananmen Square, the young 
student stands up in front of a tank, because he has ideas that he 
believes in. A young student in Moscow back in 1991 stands up in front 
of a tank, again because of ideas he believes in. Yet, when we look at 
movies and we look at history and we look at events around the world, 
what we oftentimes forget is that in fact, heroes live at home. Heroes 
live in our midst.
  What I want to say for just a few minutes today is that I stand here 
in praise of one such hero. That hero is a young 15-year-old boy by the 
name of Keith Putnam, who lived in Hanahan, South Carolina. This boy 
was the quintessential low country boy. I grew up in the woods and 
waters of the low country. When you get it in your veins, it stays in 
your veins.
  It was certainly in his, because this boy loved hunting, he loved 
fishing, he loved sailing, he loved the water; he loved all elements of 
the low country. This boy was athletic. He had played on the soccer 
team for the last 2 years. This boy was an achiever. He was in Who's 
Who in American High School Students for the last 2 years.
  He was a hardworking, good person. He had wanted to buy a car. He was 
not given money to buy a car, he went out and earned money to buy a 
car. By cutting grass for a whole summer in different yards across 
North Charleston and Hanahan, he managed to end up with enough money to 
buy himself a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle; and he did not do it just on 
Sunday mornings, because he was an usher at Peace Lutheran church.
  The boy was known for the way he helped other people. In short, I 
would say that he was everything that is special and unique about being 
American. In fact, he was as well a dreamer, because he dreamed of 
going to the Citadel, and then going on to the Air Force Academy, and 
then ultimately becoming a commercial airline pilot.
  Yet, those dreams came to an end about 2 months ago, because Keith 
Putnam was killed in Hanahan, South Carolina, about 2 months ago. He 
was killed trying to save the life of another. He and a friend were 
driving down the road one evening, and they looked and saw a car lodged 
on the railroad tracks there in Hanahan.
  They jumped out of the car. He jumped out of the car. He pulls a 
woman with her 3-year-old baby out of the car, gets her to safety. He 
goes back to the car. He pulls another woman out of the car, gets her 
to safety. He goes back a third time to make sure that there is nobody 
else still in the car, and tragically, the train hits the car and 
drives it into Keith, killing Keith.
  So I just wanted to say here today how sorry I am for what the 
Putnams have been through, and most of all, to thank Keith for the life 
that he lived. Because though I did not know Keith, his life stands out 
as one of those special lives. William Wallace, 600 years ago, stood on 
a battlefield totally out numbered. He said, Remember, men, they can 
take from us our lives, but they can never take our freedom. He went on 
to say to his men, Men, every man has to die, but not every man gets to 
live.
  I think what is special about Keith's life is that he actually lived 
it. He shows us about being engaged and being involved in life. Most of 
all, what he shows us is that, in fact, heroes do live in our midst. 
For that, I thank him.

                          ____________________