[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 161 (Thursday, December 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H11660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           WELCOMING HOME UNITS OF TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Pennsylvania is 
exactly right. In fact if my arithmetic is correct, the polls in Iraq 
closed just a little over an hour ago. Of course, we owe the great 
success of three successful elections in Iraq to the dedication of our 
troops that have served so well over there. In fact, this past weekend 
in Waco, Texas, citizens of Texas welcomed back the 56th Combat 
Brigade, over 2,000 Texans from the Texas Army National Guard who have 
been serving for 11 months in the country of Iraq.
  This is especially important to my hometown of Denton, Texas. 
Seventy-eight members of the Denton-based Company A, 2nd Battalion of 
the 112th Army, have returned to their homes in north Texas. This is 
the first deployment of the Denton-based Texas National Guard since 
World War II, according to an editorial in the Denton Record Chronicle 
last week.
  The 56th Battalion was not without its casualties. There were six who 
died in combat, two who died in training accidents, and 58 were 
wounded. Fortunately, none of the soldiers that left from Denton, 
Texas, were killed in action in Iraq. Only one was wounded. During that 
time they performed 7,000 combat patrols, escorted convoys for 1.3 
million miles, and built 15 schools.
  There is a parade in Denton this Saturday morning. We may not be done 
voting, I may not be able to attend, but my heart will be with my 
citizens in Denton as they welcome their sons and daughters home.

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