[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO SGT. THOMAS ROBBINS AND THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THE SUPREME 
               SACRIFICE PROTECTING AMERICA'S WAY OF LIFE

  (Mr. McNULTY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, over the recent recess, I attended the 
funeral of Sgt. Thomas Robbins, a young man who grew up in my 
congressional district, who was recently killed as a result of injuries 
sustained in Iraq.
  When I attended that funeral, it brought back many painful memories. 
Chief among them was the time in August of 1970 when I was called home 
to learn that my brother Bill had been killed in Vietnam. It made me 
think about my priorities and the need to remember that had it not been 
for all of the men and women who have served in the United States 
military through the years, the rest of us would not have the privilege 
of bragging about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on 
Earth.
  Freedom is not free. We have paid a tremendous price for it. We 
continue to pay that price today, and we need to be grateful to all 
those who have served and especially those who have made the supreme 
sacrifice.
  Mr. Speaker, I extend my sympathies to all of the members of Thomas' 
loving family, and all of his many friends, on this tragic loss. He now 
becomes one of the reasons why, when I get up in the morning, the first 
two things I do are to thank God for my life, and veterans for my way 
of life.

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