[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6332-H6334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF PRIVATE WILLIAM LONG

  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 515) condemning the murder of Army 
Private William Long and the wounding of Army Private Quinton 
Ezeagwula, who were shot outside the Army Navy Career Center in Little 
Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 2009.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 515

       Whereas, on June 1, 2009, Private William Long, 23, was 
     murdered outside the Army Navy Career Center in Little Rock, 
     Arkansas;
       Whereas, on June 1, 2009, Private Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, 
     was wounded by gunfire outside the Army Navy Career Center in 
     Little Rock, Arkansas;
       Whereas there are more than 1,400,000 active component and 
     more than 1,200,000 reserve component members of the Armed 
     Forces protecting America;
       Whereas there are more than 8,000 Army and Army Reserve 
     recruiters and more than 7,000 Navy recruiters serving at 
     more than 1,500 military recruiting stations and centers in 
     United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Europe;
       Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces risk their 
     lives every day to preserve America's freedom and to defend 
     the liberty, security, and prosperity enjoyed by the American 
     people;
       Whereas service in the Armed Forces entails special hazards 
     and demands extraordinary sacrifices from service members;
       Whereas members of the Armed Forces are the targets of 
     violence not only abroad but in the United States as well; 
     and
       Whereas such violence is despicable and must not be 
     tolerated: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) offers its condolences to the family of Private William 
     Long;
       (2) hopes for a full recovery for Private Quinton 
     Ezeagwula;
       (3) urges swift prosecution to the fullest extent of the 
     law of the perpetrator of this senseless shooting; and
       (4) urges the American people to join Congress in 
     condemning acts of violence.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I now yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 515 rightly condemns the murder of Army 
Private William Long and the wounding of Army Private Quinton 
Ezeagwula, who were shot outside the Army Navy Career Center in Little 
Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 2009.
  This dastardly attack on two young Americans who were simply standing 
outside the Armed Forces Recruiting Center where they worked should 
shock the conscience of all Americans.
  Private Long, who was 23, was murdered. Private Ezeagwula, who is 18, 
was wounded. They had answered their call to service and were willing 
to lay down their lives for their country, but the deadly attack came 
here at home, not on a field of battle halfway across the world.
  There are more than 1.4 million Active members of the Armed Forces 
protecting America, and more than 1.2 million Reserve members. There 
are more than 8,000 Army and Army Reserve recruiters, and more than 
7,000 Navy recruiters, serving at more than 1,500 military recruiting 
stations and centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 
Europe. Each one of these men and women are courageous patriots who 
deserve our support, and this deadly attack is nothing short of 
dastardly.
  This resolution offers the condolences of this House to the family of 
Private Long, expresses our hopes for a full recovery for Private 
Ezeagwula, and urges that the perpetrator or perpetrators of this 
senseless shooting be brought to justice.

                              {time}  1415

  I want to commend our colleague, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Franks), for introducing this resolution. It is an appropriate 
statement of what I note to be the views of every Member of this House. 
At a time like this, it is important for all of us to stand together to 
support our men and women in uniform and to speak with one voice 
against violence directed against them.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on June 1 of 2009, only about a week ago, Private 
William Long, only 23 years old, was shot and killed as he worked at 
the Army Navy Career Center, which is a military recruitment center, in 
Little Rock, Arkansas. Private Quinton I. Ezeagwula, age 18, was also 
shot in the attack that day. Thankfully, Private Ezeagwula survived; 
although our latest information is that he remains still in critical 
condition.
  Mr. Speaker, most persons who are listening today are hearing about 
Private Long's death for the first time. It's likely that most 
Americans haven't heard of his killing because Private Long's murder 
forces the issue that the mainstream media does not want to confront or 
report on, and that is Islamic terrorism within and coming from within 
the United States.
  The man accused of shooting Private Long and Private Ezeagwula was 
formally known as Carlos Bledsoe. Bledsoe converted to Islam and 
changed his name to Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad. He later traveled to 
Yemen where he was there studying under an Islamic scholar. Yes, Mr. 
Speaker, we have millions of law-abiding Muslims in this country. Acts 
of terror committed by some members of a religion should never be used 
to condemn all members of that religion. At the same time, however, we 
cannot be blind to the jihadist ideology of some Muslims of this 
country who believe that they have a religious duty to murder the 
innocent.
  The mindset of radical Islamic terrorism which today seems to find 
fertile ground in the soil of jihad claims that the cause of justice is 
advanced by killing the innocent and by killing those who seek to 
protect the innocent. This is the fundamental reality. And when the 
American media and we, as a people, refuse to call evil by its name, it 
imperils us all and it dishonors all of those, like these two soldiers 
who have sacrificed and bled to protect the innocent from that evil.

[[Page H6333]]

  Mr. Speaker, the American soldier does not fight because he hates 
what's in front of him. He fights because he loves what is behind him. 
Private Long's so-called crime was his commitment to defending the 
innocent against those who would cause them and all of us harm. That 
commitment is the price required oftentimes to maintain our freedom. 
That commitment was carried deeply in the heart of Private William 
Long. He displayed it bravely by wearing the uniform of the United 
States armed services and dying in it for all of us. That commitment 
will forever be the legacy of his life on this Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, today there are approximately 1.2 million Reserve 
component members of the Armed Forces protecting America; more than 
8,000 Army and Army Reserve recruiters; and more than 7,000 Navy 
recruiters serving at more than 1,500 military recruiting stations and 
centers in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Europe. This 
attack could have ended the lives of any one of those noble men and 
women. Each of them risks his or her life every single day to preserve 
America's freedom and to defend the right of every American to live 
free, to be free, and pursue their dreams.
  So today, Mr. Speaker, I've introduced House Resolution 515 to offer 
our deepest condolences to the family of Private William Long on behalf 
of the United States House of Representatives, to offer our hope of a 
full and complete recovery for Private Quinton Ezeagwula, and to urge 
the prosecution of the preparator of this senseless shooting to the 
fullest extent of the law, and finally, to urge the American people to 
join together in condemning such horrific acts of violence upon the 
noble men and women of our Armed Forces.
  We pray especially that the hearts of all of those that Private Long 
knew and loved would find comfort and peace in the knowledge that in 
dying, because he wore the uniform of the United States military, their 
loved one laid down his life for the sake of human freedom and on 
behalf of those who could not defend that freedom for themselves. No 
legacy could be more noble, Mr. Speaker.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I now yield such time as he may 
consume to the distinguished gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder).
  Mr. SNYDER. People in America, Mr. Speaker, mourn the loss of any of 
our troops in combat or not, here or abroad. Andy Long, private, United 
States Army, was killed in Little Rock, Arkansas in my district 1 week 
before he was to leave to be with his unit headed to Korea. We mourn 
his loss today. So, also, do we hope and pray for the rapid recovery of 
Private Ezeagwula who was wounded.
  I attended the funeral yesterday of Andy Long in Conway, Arkansas, 
and met both families. The Long family is a military family: his great-
grandfather served; his grandfather served; his father is a retired 
marine warrant officer; his mother served and is a veteran--and, in 
fact, she was in the parking lot waiting to give him a ride home when 
the shooting began. His brother Triston is in the military today and 
will be headed to Iraq this summer.
  A family tradition for this family is that the father prepares a 
letter to give to the son when he deploys. Yesterday, Andy's father, 
Retired Marine CWO4 Daris Long, read the following letter to his son. 
He had these ideas in mind to give to his son and put them down in 
writing, and the letter was placed in the casket yesterday at the 
funeral. And this was the letter that Daris Long wrote to his son:
  ``Dear Andy, let me start by telling you how proud your mother and I 
are of you in your choice to serve this country. The profession of arms 
is not an easy job. It is not 9-5. You won't often get a choice in what 
you want, when you want to do something, or even voice some of your 
opinions.
  ``You took an oath, `I, William Andrew Long, do solemnly swear to 
support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all 
enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to 
the same.' That means a lot. In my mind, it means that whatever your 
personal feelings are, you may have to put them aside because you don't 
get to decide who you are going to protect, you protect the rights of 
all. Oliver Hazard Perry, a War of 1812 Naval hero, once toasted the 
country with this, `My country, right or wrong, but first my country.' 
That statement was often quoted out of context by my generation in the 
end years of the Vietnam War by protestors. In light of your oath, its 
true meaning is revealed. Always remember, your loyalties are to the 
principles upon which this country was established. Your duty is to the 
country, not some cause, not some character, not to some party.''
  Mr. Long continues: `` `That I will obey the orders of the President 
of the United States, the officers and non-commissioned officers 
appointed over me, acting in accordance with regulations and the 
Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me, God.' You are to obey the 
rightful orders given you. I am sure you were given classes on the laws 
of warfare, what is right and what is wrong. This part of the oath 
charges you to do the right thing. This part absolutely absolves you 
from obeying illegal orders. It reminds you that the old `I was just 
following orders' routine doesn't excuse you from misconduct that 
results from following an illegal order. It does not mean you can 
refuse to follow orders you may disagree with but only those that are 
clearly illegal. You have to have a moral compass and rigidly follow 
it.
  ``You are now on your way to Korea. What we had talked about, filling 
your off-duty time with constructive pursuits, may have to go on hold 
with what is going on over there now.''
  Mr. Long continues: ``You need to find someone in your unit who is 
good at what he does professionally and personally and get into his hip 
pocket. Learn what he knows. Your leaders are going to be pressed to 
have everything and everybody ready in case things go south. You may 
not have time to get your newly acquired skills down to an art. You 
need to support your leaders and fellow soldiers by being a good 
follower. Remember, as an infantryman, your life support system is the 
guy next to you. You need to trust him. He needs to know he can trust 
you. When you are in the thick of things your focus will narrow to your 
immediate brothers in arms, other things will fade the mere 
distractions. You need to have your head on a swivel, be aware of your 
surroundings. Follow your orders quickly and completely. Please, for 
your own sanity and to ease the burden of your immediate leaders, don't 
get bogged down with all the whining and back seat driving you may hear 
from `sea lawyers' in your unit--every outfit has them--they are known, 
some have more, some have less.''
  Mr. Long continues: ``I was once where you are, at the bottom of the 
food chain. However, after having been promoted up the ladder to Chief 
Warrant Officer 4, I can tell you that at each level of command, at 
fire team, squad, platoon, company, and so on, the people in charge are 
always being pounded on to take care of their people. Your welfare is 
key to the success of the accomplishment of the mission. There will be 
times that you will have to be reminded of this and you may think I am 
full of it, but it is fact.''
  Mr. Long continues: ``This quote has been used many times and I think 
it was attributed to some anonymous author who wrote on a c-ration box 
somewhere in the field in Vietnam: `For those who have fought for it, 
freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.' I am personally 
proud of your progression from boy to man. It's been hard, but the end 
result is my hero. You and your brother serving are a joy to me. You 
both are foregoing a lot by doing what you are doing especially now 
when your country is in peril. You both are heroes by having the moral 
courage to stand up when the country needs you most, when others are 
not willing to give up their creature comforts. These are times I wish 
I were still doing what you are. However, the profession of arms is a 
young man's game. The last recruits I trained are now coming up on 29 
years, 3 months in service if any of them are still in.''
  Mr. Long continues: ``My heart is with you. My mind is still ticking 
through the pre-deployment checklists, what the priorities are, where I 
am going. I know you are in the Army and I'm sure you are tired of 
hearing how the Marines do it. Marines march to the sound of the guns. 
You need to do the same. Don't let others do your job,

[[Page H6334]]

your duty. I haven't told your mom in words, but all those times I left 
on a moment's notice and came back long after others were home, I 
volunteered. I wasn't going to be left behind to let others do my job 
or what I considered a job I could do better. I'm telling you this 
because your job is to stand watch on the wall, separating us, from 
those who would do us harm. Your day only ends when you've done your 
duty.''
  And Mr. Long finishes: ``So you have a lot of long days ahead of you. 
I've told this to Triston, and now it is your turn. I hope you take 
this letter as it is meant--from a father who loves you, trying to give 
you some hard-learned life experience. Even though we have had our ups 
and downs, I have always loved you. You are in both my thoughts and 
prayers. You are my son. You are my hero. I love you. Semper Fidelis, 
Dad.''
  Mr. Long put this letter in the casket, and then he reminded me today 
that he intends to write a similar letter to his son Triston when he 
deploys to Iraq this summer.
  I want to make a brief comment about the resolution.
  I was not involved with the writing of this resolution. I think I 
would have phrased part of it differently. It says, Resolved, that the 
House of Representatives, number 3, urges swift prosecution to the 
fullest extent of the law the perpetrator of this senseless shooting.
  My own view is that we do not know all of the facts surrounding this 
shooting. If it turns out that, in fact, the perpetrator, whoever did 
this, was trained, supported by some overseas group affiliated with al 
Qaeda or any of the other terrorist groups, the hell with swift 
prosecution. We need to take him out.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, just a personal thought on my 
part.
  Sometimes a country oftentimes asks itself the question of what 
really is the source and fundamental essence of our security. And 
oftentimes, we think that that is the length and breadth of our 
military might, and I would only remind us all that thousands of years 
ago, China built the Great Wall to protect China. This was a wall that 
would have challenged some of our modern day tanks and they thought 
that they were completely secure, but in that time China was invaded 
three different times because the enemy simply bribed the guard who 
opened the gate and let them in.

                              {time}  1430

  I would submit today that the greatest and most important factor for 
the freedom of a people is the commitment in the heart of its people, 
and especially those who put on the uniform, to be committed enough to 
stand in the way of the aggressor and their homeland. And that is 
exactly what Private Long and Private Ezeagwula tried to do.
  There is a verse that says, Greater love hath no man than this; that 
a man lay down his life for his friends. It is the most noble of all 
acts that we can accomplish on this Earth. Sometimes I think we forget 
how much some people give for the freedom that we have. Privates Long 
and Ezeagwula are good examples.
  Mr. Speaker, I think sometimes we also forget the price that families 
pay. You know, it is easy for us to focus upon only the fallen, but 
those who remain and the grief that is laid upon their broken shoulders 
is often sometimes something we cannot identify with.
  I was in the Press Club here a few days ago, and I saw a diamond-
shaped picture of a cold, icy, windy day out at Arlington National 
Cemetery. A woman stood alone with her back to the viewer standing at a 
tombstone. There was no one else in the cemetery and the wind was 
blowing and her clothes were out to the side. It was the loneliest 
thing I had ever seen. And the title was simply, ``The Widow.'' Now, I 
understand that Private Long was not yet married, but I am sure there 
was someone out there that loved him, and I know that his parents loved 
him. And the family has faced a loss that none of us can even imagine. 
So as we salute Private Long, I also think it is in order to salute his 
family, who have paid such a high price so we can stand here in this 
Chamber and talk about freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. How much time do I have remaining, Mr. 
Speaker?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York has 10\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Well, I won't take that, but I yield myself 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, we ask every member of our armed services--2.6 million 
men and women in the Active and Reserve forces--to be willing to lay 
down their lives for our country in defense of our freedom, if need be, 
and they are willing to do that. And every time, whether in Iraq or 
Afghanistan or anywhere else around the globe, a member of our armed 
services is killed in action there is a grieved family, a lover, a 
wife, a husband, a mother, a father, a son, a daughter for all of these 
who are grieved and whose loss can never be made up. And we sometimes, 
except on Memorial Day, forget about that. And this happens all the 
time, too often, and we don't think about it too much. We ought to 
think about it because our freedoms are dependent on it; our way of 
life is dependent on it. And none of us would be here enjoying our 
freedoms if it weren't for the willingness of our sons and daughters to 
do what they have to do to keep us safe and free.
  This resolution does not address all of that; it simply addresses two 
members of our armed services, one of whom was killed and one of whom 
was severely wounded. But the difference is that they weren't in a 
combat zone; they were murdered and wounded here at home, supposedly in 
a safe place. And it illustrates that even here at home not everyone is 
safe.
  So this resolution mourns the death of Private Long and the wounding 
of Private Ezeagwula, and it extends our condolences to the family of 
Private Long and our wishes for the best recovery to Private Ezeagwula. 
It is little enough that we can do, but it is really all we can do at 
this point. It says we are grateful. It reminds us of the sacrifices 
that are made.
  I appreciate Mr. Franks' introduction of this resolution. I urge 
everyone to support it. And as with the resolution I spoke of earlier 
today, I cannot believe anyone will not support it. So I urge its 
adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw the motion.

                          ____________________