[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 24, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7291-S7292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    MOMENT OF SILENCE TO HONOR OFFICER CHESTNUT AND DETECTIVE GIBSON

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now 
observe a moment of silence to honor the memory of Officer Chestnut and 
Detective Gibson.
  (Moment of Silence.)
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, Senator Daschle and I and other members of 
the leadership of the Senate have joined the House of Representatives 
at the memorial entrance to have a moment of silence in memory of 
Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson. I know that moment of silence 
was honored in the Senate. We do not want this moment to go by without 
making some specific remarks.
  We remember today with fondness and in prayer and everlasting 
gratitude the sacrifice of two great men of peace who lost their lives 
in the line of duty in our Capitol 4 years ago at precisely 3:40 p.m.
  Officer J.J. Chestnut and Detective John Gibson were part of our 
congressional family, a family whose security was their life and for 
whose safety they died.
  On July 24, 1998, our gift of freedom was challenged every bit as 
determinedly as it was on September 11. And just as the Nation 
witnessed on September 11, we saw on July 24, selfless protectors and 
guardians rise to the defense of the liberty of all Americans. No one 
who was in the Capitol that day 4 years ago or who revels in the 
triumph of democracy that this great dome symbolizes could help but be 
affected by the profound heroism of these fallen comrades, Officer 
Chestnut and Detective Gibson, and also of the courage and the 
dedication and the loving of their families.
  We cherish their memory and gratefully accept responsibility every 
day of proving ourselves worthy of their example and the cherished gift 
of freedom they left us. Our thoughts and prayers and gratitude are 
with the Chestnut and Gibson families today and every day.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S7292]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. This is a sad day for the Capitol Hill family. Four 
years ago today, two very good men--two members of our Capitol Hill 
family, Officer J.J. Chestnut and Detective John Gibson--were killed 
defending this Capitol Building.
  As Senator Lott has noted, a few moments ago we paused for a moment 
of silence to pay tribute to these fallen heroes for their selfless 
service and their enormous sacrifice.
  Just before that moment of silence, there was a ceremony at the 
memorial door entrance to this building. Under the bronze plaque that 
bears the names and likenesses of Officer Chestnut and Detective 
Gibson, we laid roses in their honor.
  Yesterday at that same spot someone left another tribute: a small 
basket of red, white, and blue flowers. Attached to the basket was a 
card. Inside the card was a handwritten note that read: We will never 
forget. You were my friends. God bless. It was signed by a member of 
the Capitol Police Force.
  Also yesterday John Gibson's beloved Boston Red Sox trounced the 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 22 to 4--in the first game of a double hitter, no 
less. So I know John Gibson is smiling up in heaven today.
  And even though the gardening he loved is struggling in this heat and 
drought, I am sure J.J. Chestnut is right there with him--smiling, too.
  For those of us down here who knew them, it is a little harder to 
smile today. The great poet Emily Dickinson wrote, after someone you 
loved dies, you feel ``the presence of their absence everywhere.''
  The absence of J.J. Chestnut and John Gibson is felt today by many 
people, by their friends, their fellow officers, most of all by their 
families, their wives and children, and in Officer Chestnut's case, his 
grandchildren. The Gibson and Chestnut families have felt the presence 
of the absence of John and J.J. for three Thanksgivings and three 
Christmases, at too many birthday parties, weddings, and graduations.
  Those of us who work in the Capitol want the Gibson and Chestnut 
families to know that in all those moments our hearts have been with 
them. We also want them to know that we, too, feel the presence of the 
absence of their loved ones. We feel it when we pass the memorial door 
entrance. We feel it when we see Capitol Police officers working double 
shifts to protect us. We felt it on September 11 when our Nation was 
attacked and on October 15 when the anthrax letter was opened.
  During this past year, we have all been reminded with terrible 
certainty that there are people in the world who would like to destroy 
this building, the people's House, and the government and the ideals 
for which it stands. We also know with absolute certainty that as long 
as there are patriots such as John Gibson and J.J. Chestnut who are 
willing to sacrifice their lives to defend our freedom and safety, this 
people's House and this great Nation will endure.
  As the note on the basket said: We will never forget. They were our 
friends and our protectors. God bless them today and always.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from West Virginia.

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