[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING LeROY RADTKE, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2003

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today to bring to 
the attention of our colleagues a true American hero who was honored in 
my congressional district recently.
  Private First Class LeRoy Radtke, Jr. served our country with honor 
and dignity. He enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 20 years old. 
He did so because he loved his country and he loved the Corps. He was 
proud to be a Marine and lived his life by a code that only Marines 
truly understand. He died saving a member of his unit during a 
firefight in Vietnam. He was, in the proudest tradition of the Marines, 
ever faithful to his country and the Corps.
  PFC Radtke left America as a young man with many hopes, dreams, and 
plans for the future. And although most of those plans went 
unfulfilled, he died being a soldier and fighting for the country he 
loved. PFC Radtke also left behind a family who loved him and who still 
grieves his loss. His mother, Dorothy, his sister, Peggy, and his 
brother, Karl, attended a ceremony this past weekend to add PFC 
Radtke's name to a memorial of veterans who died defending our country. 
This memorial, located in New Port Richey in my congressional district, 
stands as a lasting tribute to the brave men from Pasco County who gave 
their lives to guard our freedom.
  People often forget that the families of our men and women in uniform 
make many sacrifices while their loved ones are worlds away fighting 
for us. This is especially true for families of Vietnam veterans. Many 
veterans of the Vietnam War returned home not to the admiration and 
reverence they deserved, but to scorn and ridicule from those who 
opposed the policies of our nation's leaders. They deserved much 
better. So did the families of those soldiers who did not return 
safely.
  I am humbled to show my gratitude, and that of the House of 
Representatives, to PFC Radtke and his family. I hope these words will 
remind them that our country endures only because of people like PFC 
LeRoy Radtke. America is forever indebted to him. I hope that this 
small gesture will comfort them when they think of his loss that summer 
thirty-six years ago.
  May God bless his family and may He continue to watch over the United 
States of America.

                          ____________________