[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDWARD J. O'NEAL, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROBIN HAYES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American, 
Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. O'Neal, Jr. of the United States Air 
Force.
  LTC O'Neal was sent to Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to evaluate a 
maintenance training program of the Royal Saudi Air Force. On May 29, 
2004, he had just finished eating breakfast at a coffee shop with a 
colleague, LTC James Broome III, when a group of terrorists attacked 
the civilian complex where they dined.
  Unarmed and in search of safety, LTC O'Neal and LTC Broome headed 
toward the roof of a nearby building. On the way, the two soldiers came 
across four civilian contractors who were doing construction on the 
third floor of the building. LTC O'Neal and LTC Broome informed the 
workers of the terrorist attack below and safely escorted the civilians 
to the roof, where the men barricaded the door with a tool box and 
rocks. Amid the turmoil and gunfire, LTC O'Neal had the presence of 
mind to use his cell phone to gather information from other Americans 
he knew were in the complex and relay it to his operations center in 
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia The six men remained on the roof, waiting out the 
attack, for nearly twelve hours with only one water cooler they brought 
from the third-floor construction site. During that time, the soldiers 
rationed only one sip of water to each man every hour, in temperatures 
that reached 120-degrees Fahrenheit.
  Once the group on the roof was told the terrorist forces had been 
isolated in another building of the compound, LTC O'Neal led the group 
down to the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairs, LTC O'Neal was 
approaching a steel door that opened up to the street when one 
remaining terrorist fired a machine gun at him, hitting him four times 
and also injuring LTC Broome. LTC O'Neal was shot in the left arm, 
right shoulder, right thigh, and in the torso. Crawling into a space 
under the stairway, LTC O'Neal remained hidden for 1\1/2\ before 
finally being assisted by a Saudi defense official.
  American soldiers like LTC O'Neal put themselves in harm's way on a 
daily basis to prosecute the Global War on Terrorism and to protect the 
freedoms and ideals that we as a nation cherish. For his bravery and 
valor, and for the wounds he received in action on May 29, 2004, 
Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. O'Neal, Jr. will be awarded the Purple 
Heart.
  It gives me great pride to know that LTC O'Neal will be awarded this 
meritorious distinction. The Purple Heart is the oldest presently used 
military decoration in the world, dating back to its first use in the 
American Revolution. In the summer of 1782, General George Washington 
was ordered by the Continental Congress to cease granting commissions 
or advances in rank to soldiers in recognition of outstanding valor and 
merit. Shortly after, in his General Orders of August 7, 1782, General 
Washington directed that ``whenever any singularly meritorious action 
is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his 
facings, over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or 
silk edged with narrow lace or binding.'' He concluded, ``The road to 
glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all. This 
order is also to have retrospect to the earliest stages of the war, and 
to be considered a permanent one.''
  Specifically a combat decoration, it gives me great pride to know 
that LTC O'Neal will receive this high honor, the Purple Heart, on 
August 4, 2004. LTC O'Neal embodies the spirit of those who serve and 
fight to keep America the greatest light of freedom the world has ever 
known. I thank LTC O'Neal for his brave service and selfless sacrifice. 
He is a patriot and a hero. May God bless LTC O'Neal and his family, 
and may God bless America.

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