[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 87 (Monday, June 27, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H5207-H5209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING UNITED STATES AIR FORCE MEMBERS KILLED IN KHOBAR TOWERS 
                                BOMBING

  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 188) honoring the members of the 
United States Air Force who were killed in the June 25, 1996, terrorist 
bombing of the Khobar Towers United States military housing compound 
near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 188

       Whereas June 25, 2005, marks the ninth anniversary of the 
     terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers United States military 
     housing compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on June 25, 1996;
       Whereas 19 members of the United States Air Force were 
     killed in the bombing and 300 other Americans were injured;
       Whereas the 19 airmen killed while serving their country 
     were Captain Christopher Adams, Staff Sergeant Daniel 
     Cafourek, Sergeant Millard Campbell, Senior Airman Earl 
     Cartrette, Jr., Technical Sergeant Patrick Fennig, Captain 
     Leland Haun, Master Sergeant Michael Heiser, Staff Sergeant 
     Kevin Johnson, Staff Sergeant Ronald King, Master Sergeant 
     Kendall Kitson, Jr., Airman First Class Christopher B. 
     Lester, Airman First Class Brent Marthaler, Airman First 
     Class Brian McVeigh, Airman First Class Peter Morgera, 
     Technical Sergeant Thanh Nguyen, Airman First Class Joseph 
     Rimkus, Senior Airman Jeremy Taylor, Airman First Class 
     Justin Wood, and Airman First Class Joshua Woody;
       Whereas the families of these brave airmen still mourn 
     their loss;
       Whereas three months after that terrorist bombing, on 
     September 24, 1996, the House of Representatives agreed to 
     House Concurrent Resolution 200 of the 104th Congress, 
     honoring the victims of that terrorist bombing, and on the 
     fifth anniversary of that bombing, on June 25, 2001, the 
     House of Representatives agreed to House Concurrent 
     Resolution 161 of the 107th Congress, concurred in by the 
     Senate on July 12, 2002, further honoring the victims of that 
     bombing;
       Whereas those guilty of the attack have yet to be brought 
     to justice; and
       Whereas terrorism remains a constant and ever-present 
     threat around the world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring),  That on the occasion of the ninth anniversary 
     of the terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers United States 
     military housing compound near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the 
     Congress--
       (1) recognizes the service and sacrifice of the 19 members 
     of the United States Air Force who died in that attack;
       (2) calls upon every American to pause and pay tribute to 
     those brave airmen;
       (3) extends its continued sympathies to the families of 
     those who died; and
       (4) assures the members of the Armed Forces serving 
     anywhere in the world that their well-being and interests 
     will at all times be given the highest priority.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller).

[[Page H5208]]

                             General Leave

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on H. Con. Res. 188.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume
  I rise today in support of this resolution which reminds us that 
brave American service men and women willingly risk their lives to 
defend the United States' interests and the freedom and values that we 
all enjoy as citizens. Such commitment imposes on the rest of us an 
obligation, an obligation to ensure that we do not break faith with 
those who serve, and that we respond to such commitment by resolving to 
provide the necessary resources for our military forces to successfully 
carry out the missions assigned to them.
  Nine years ago this past Saturday, a truck bomb exploded outside the 
fence around the Khobar Towers compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The 
bomb, estimated at more than 3,000 pounds, detonated about 85 feet from 
a residential housing unit that housed U.S. troops, killing 19 U.S. Air 
Force servicemen, and wounding hundreds of other Americans.
  The force of that explosion destroyed or damaged six high-rise 
apartment buildings and shattered windows throughout the residential 
compound. Today, we honor the 19 airmen who gave their lives, the 
supreme sacrifice, at the hands of terrorists 20 miles away from 
Dhahran. This Congress joins me in paying tribute to those men who are 
individually recognized in H. Con. Res. 188.
  Mr. Speaker, I thought when I was drafting this resolution that it is 
ironic that just a month ago we celebrated Memorial Day, where we 
honored the men and women who have died in the pursuit, and 
subsequently the defense, of freedom in wars, domestic and foreign, 
since the founding of our country. One week from today, we will be 
celebrating the founding of America, our birthday, the Declaration of 
Independence, upon which our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, 
their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
  As we celebrate our Fourth of July or Memorial Day on their 
designated day, they are a constant reminder of the sacrifice of these 
men. Twelve of the 19 men killed were based at Eglin Air Force Base in 
my district and several, along with their families, were constituents. 
It is my hope that all of America will pause and give thanks to their 
sacrifice.
  This week in Washington, D.C., the parents and loved ones of many of 
those who sacrificed their lives are the guests of the FBI, and some of 
them are here today in the House gallery as we present this resolution. 
I want to personally pay a word of deepest appreciation to the families 
of these heroes.
  We can never undo the tragedy that they have lived. We can never 
alleviate the pain that I know is with each of them every day, but I 
would hope and I know my colleagues join me in this hope, that with the 
adoption of this resolution, they will take from our action some solace 
in the fact that we do not forget the contributions and sacrifices of 
their loved ones. They are much more than men in uniform to them; they 
were their lives.
  Bridget Brooks, mother of Airman First Class Joseph E. Rimkus, is a 
constituent of mine and works at Eglin even today. I regret that she is 
not able to be here today, so, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with 
my colleagues the kind of man who was lost, in his mother's own words.
  ``When Joseph joined the military, he told me that now he could have 
a flag on his coffin like his grandfather. He knew I worried about his 
safety and had not allowed him to join when he was 17, but he was so 
devoted to the military that in his last letter to me, he told me that 
I was his hero and he was going to make a career out of serving his 
country. He was so proud to be in the Air Force.
  ``As for his youth, he became the man of the house when his father 
abandoned us while serving a tour in Korea, and Joseph was my biggest 
supporter as I put myself through college. He called me the day he 
died, and his last words to me were that he loved me.
  ``He was the tenth firstborn son to be named Joseph. He did not talk 
about being a father because that was a done deal. Instead, he talked 
in great length of what kind of grandfather he would be.
  ``My family may never recover from this loss. Joseph was one of those 
rare souls who gave all. Before he left, he made sure that I knew he 
was a Christian and he would be a Catholic all of his life. Can you 
imagine how that knowledge has comforted me? There is no amount of 
money to pay for that. Even to this day, people still tell me how 
wonderful he was.
  ``In the court case against Iran, one airman, who I did not know, 
testified that while they were all huddled in mass after the bombing, 
and they knew the boys who were killed, it was Joseph's presence that 
he felt. That does not surprise me. Joseph was there for his friends. 
That is just what he would do.''
  Mr. Speaker, our action on this resolution is a message to those who 
died, their family members, our Nation and the rest of the world that 
we honor the sacrifices of these 19 airmen and the families that they 
left behind. They served with the highest and best military traditions. 
No one could have served better or given more.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me and the 47 original cosponsors 
in support of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 188 
introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller). I appreciate all 
the work he has done on the Committee on Armed Services on which we 
both serve. He has been a valiant supporter of our men and women in 
uniform, our veterans, and our national security.
  The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) outlined well the terrible 
tragedy that occurred at Khobar Towers. This was really brought home to 
me several years ago when I had the honor of participating in a Purple 
Heart ceremony at the Little Rock Air Force Base, a C-130 base in my 
district, one of those things that all of us Members at some point get 
the honor of doing.
  During this ceremony, previous Purple Heart winners were introduced, 
and several of them were survivors of Khobar Towers, and it really 
brought home for me that for many of us Americans we hear these names, 
they sound exotic, they sound foreign, and yet for the families that 
are here with us today and the families of these men and women who died 
and were wounded, those names, those places, mean very much to them and 
their family.
  We are also reminded by the tragedy at Khobar Towers, the attack on 
Khobar Towers, of the other sacrifices that our men and women in 
uniform have made at places that are not all that well known to many 
Americans.
  We recall the attack on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the U.S. military 
headquarters, November 13, 1995, in which we lost five servicemembers.
  Then 2 years following the Khobar Towers attack, we had the attack 
against two of our embassies on August 7, 1998, one in Nairobi, Kenya, 
and the other in Tanzania. The two truck bombs killed 11 Americans, 
including three servicemembers, and hundreds of Kenyans and nearly a 
dozen Tanzanians.
  Then we had the attack October 12, 2000, on the USS Cole and finally 
the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the plane that 
crashed in Pennsylvania.
  So this is a very important reminder today of the sacrifice that our 
men and women in uniform are called on to make, but also the sacrifice 
that their family and friends and all of us make when we lose such 
fine, fine Americans.
  Once again, I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) for 
introducing this resolution, and I urge all Members to support it.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, Saturday, June 25th, marked 9 years since the 
terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers, the U.S. military housing 
facility in Saudi Arabia where 19 American servicemen were killed and 
hundreds wounded.

[[Page H5209]]

  Four years ago, on June 21st, 2001, the United States indicted some 
of those who were responsible for those murders. While a few of these 
individuals have been identified, not one has been brought to trial 
yet. However long it takes, our country must continue to pursue and 
bring to justice all of those indicted and all those responsible for 
this murderous, terrorist act against our servicemen and our country. 
We must not rest until this has been accomplished.
  Florida and our Nation lost too many innocent victims for this matter 
to be brushed aside.
  Master Sergeant Michael G. Heiser, of Palm Coast, and Airman First 
Class Brian W. McVeigh, of DeBary, are 2 of the 19 heroes who left 
behind loved ones and families in my Congressional District. Their 
young lives were cut short when they made the ultimate sacrifice for 
our country. The United States must never rest until those responsible 
for these deaths are brought to justice.
  We know that these surviving relatives and all the others who lost 
their loved ones continue to feel the pain of great loss. We know that 
they cannot rest--until justice prevails.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H. Res. 608 which recognizes the 9th anniversary of the terrorist 
bombing of the Khobar Towers United States military housing compound 
near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
  On the evening of June 25th, 1996, a truck bomb exploded in Dhahran, 
Saudi Arabia. This terrorist attack killed 19 servicemen of the U.S. 
Air Force and wounded 300 other Americans. The bomb tore away an entire 
wall of a high-rise apartment building, part of the Khobar Towers 
complex housing U.S. Air Force men and women assigned to nearby Dhahran 
Air Base.
  Although their mission was to patrol the skies of southern Iraq and 
prevent Iraqi planes from threatening the peace of the Middle East, 
this terrorist attack was a painful demonstration and reminder of the 
risks Americans in uniform are faced with every day around the world.
  Therefore, it is our duty to recognize the service and sacrifice of 
these men and women and to extend that duty upon our fellow Americans. 
We ask that all Americans pause and pay tribute to those 19 brave 
airmen and airwomen who have given their lives so that others 
throughout the world may live in a free and democratic society. 
Together, as Americans, we offer our continued sympathies to the 
families affected by this tragedy. We know that because their loved 
ones could never be replaced; we will never forget the values they so 
valiantly died for, nor will we stop until those who are responsible 
for such a heinous act are brought to justice. Furthermore, it is our 
responsibility to assure our servicemen and women that wherever in the 
world they are--we, the Members of Congress, will make them, the 
defenders of liberty and justice, our highest priority.
  Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, again, I have no more speakers 
and I would suffice to say that we urge passage of this resolution and 
the fact that these nomads will forever be protecting us.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
188.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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