[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H4564-H4568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING 235TH BIRTHDAY OF U.S. ARMY
Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 286) recognizing the 235th
birthday of the United States Army.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 286
Whereas, on June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress,
representing the citizens of 13 American colonies, authorized
the establishment of the Continental Army;
Whereas the collective expression of the pursuit of
personal freedom caused the authorization and organization of
the United States Army, led to the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence, and prompted the codification of
the new Nation's basic principles and values in the
Constitution;
Whereas for the past 235 years, the United States Army's
central mission has been to fight and win wars;
Whereas the 183 campaign streamers from Lexington to Iraqi
Surge carried on the Army flag are a testament to the valor,
commitment, and sacrifice of the brave members of the United
States Army;
Whereas members of the United States Army have won
extraordinary distinction and respect for the Nation and its
Army stemming from engagement around the globe;
Whereas in 2010, the United States will reflect on the
contributions of members of the United States Army on the
Korean peninsula in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of
the Korean War;
Whereas the motto on the United States Army seal, ``This
We'll Defend'', is the creed by which the members of the Army
live and serve;
Whereas the United States Army is an all-volunteer force
that is trained and ready to conduct full spectrum operations
in an era of persistent conflict; and
Whereas no matter what the cause, location, or magnitude of
future conflicts, the United States can rely on its well-
trained, well-led, and highly motivated members of the United
States Army to successfully carry out the missions entrusted
to them: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) expresses its appreciation to the members of the United
States Army for 235 years of dedicated service;
(2) honors the valor, commitment, and sacrifice that
members of the United States Army, their families, and Army
civilians have displayed throughout the history of the Army;
and
(3) calls upon the President to issue a proclamation--
(A) recognizing the 235th birthday of the United States
Army and the dedicated service of its members; and
(B) calling upon the people of the United States to observe
the anniversary with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Ortiz) and the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Djou) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 286, and it is my
honor to stand here today and recognize the Army for its 235th
birthday.
Since 1775, the United States Army has stood prepared to fight and
win our Nation's wars and has provided us with some of the greatest
moments in our history.
You know, as a poor child growing up in south Texas, I never knew
what existed outside my neighborhood. However, when I joined the Army
and left south Texas, the world soon opened to me. When I arrived in
Paris, France, as a military policeman fresh out of basic training and
advanced military training, I knew that my life had changed forever.
Shortly after arriving in Paris, a friend of mine from West Virginia,
who had just finished basic and military police school training, we
headed down to see the Eiffel Tower. While walking around the city, a
limousine pulled over to our side of the road and a young woman stepped
out of the biggest car I had ever seen in my life and approached my
friend and me. She wanted to take a picture with us, two young soldiers
fresh out of basic training. But it was not until about 6 months later
that we discovered that this woman was one of the most popular movie
stars in France.
{time} 1530
But all she wanted was to have a picture with two young soldiers
wearing the American uniform.
While in France, I became interested in learning more about police
duties and investigations. The Army saw that maybe I could learn some
of the stuff that they were teaching, and I was reassigned to the Army
Criminal Investigation Division. I took the lessons and skills I
learned back to South Texas where I became constable later after my
return from the military, and later I became sheriff in Wasis County,
which is my county.
The Army experience shaped my life like nothing else has ever done.
It sent me on the pathway to become a better human being, a better
elected official, a better constable, a better county commissioner, a
better sheriff, and a better Congressman. The training was hard and
work was even harder, but the lessons were never lost.
Just as was true in the early 1960s, when a French movie star stopped
to take a picture with a poor boy from South Texas, our soldiers are
respected and admired around the world for their professionalism and
dedication to each other.
I am proud of my service and my Army experience. I am also proud of
today's soldiers as they continue to fight and win our Nation's wars as
they have done for the last 235 years. From the private in Washington's
Continental Army facing a mighty adversary to the sergeant leading a
patrol through the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, the strength of
our Nation is our Army, and I am proud to be part of that legacy. I am
proud to wish the Army happy birthday.
But you know, time has really changed. When I served back then in the
1960s, I went to the draft board, and I volunteered to the draft
because my father had passed away, and I had four siblings, two
brothers and two sister. Jobs were scarce, and I volunteered to go and
serve the Army.
Today is a different story. Today, we have all-volunteer services.
You can join the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, the
National Guard, the Reserves. They serve and they volunteer because
they love our country, and this is why we're so proud of the young men
and women who sacrifice so that you and I can enjoy the freedoms that
we have in this country. And the day when we fail to recognize the
sacrifices of these young men and women who serve, this is when the
fibers of this country start to begin to deteriorate.
[[Page H4565]]
I am so proud to say that I served in the Army, and I wish everybody
who is either serving now or have served in the past a happy birthday.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DJOU. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 286, which was
introduced by my friends from Texas, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Carter. This
resolution recognizes the 235th birthday of the United States Army and
honors the valor, commitment, and sacrifice that members of the United
States Army, their families, and Army civilians have displayed
throughout the history of the United States Army.
I personally also want to note what the recognition of the Army
birthday means to myself and my district. Three things I want to point
out to the floor: First off, of course, it is my honor to represent
Hawaii's First Congressional District, which is home to the 25th
Infantry Division of the United States Army. It is also home of U.S.
Army Pacific, Tripler Army Medical Center, Fort Shafter and of course
my Army Reserve unit. All of which I take great pride in representing
here in the Congress.
Second, I think it speaks to the strength and vitality and greatness
of our Nation and our Nation's Army that I, for myself, a child of
immigrants from Thailand and China, had the privilege of calling myself
an officer in the United States Army Reserve. It is a true testimony of
the greatness of our Nation and the greatness of our Armed Forces that
the child of immigrants would be allowed to serve as an officer in the
most powerful fighting force the world has ever known.
Third and finally, of course, I am enormously humbled to call myself
a Member of the House of Representatives, and I think it is also
testimony of the greatness of our military, Armed Forces, and for the
United States Army that I had the privilege earlier today of sitting in
a hearing with General Petraeus discussing current actions and
operations going on in Afghanistan.
I think one of the beauties of our Army today is the fact that our
Army is professional; it is well-trained; and it also is under civilian
control; and that even four-star generals have to answer to the elected
officials of our Nation's people.
As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and as a captain in
the Reserve, I'm proud to speak in very strong support of this
resolution.
On June 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, a weary group of Continental
Congressmen worked by candlelight to lay out the provisions to form an
Army. The result was a simple paragraph order for the colonial States
to provide men and arms to continue an uphill fight against England.
That simple paragraph order or resolution authorized the formation of
10 rifle companies, and thus began the formation and the beginnings of
our United States Army.
Today, 235 years later, we continue to honor the commitment and duty
of the Army soldiers who have risked their lives to preserve our
freedom. They have left a lasting mark on this Nation. During the
Army's 235-year history, tens of thousands of these brave young men and
women have selflessly served on distant battlefields to keep our Nation
safe.
I am particularly proud of the residents of Hawaii who have served
and continue to serve in the Army on behalf of our Nation, as well as
the many Reservists and Guardsmen, many of whom are my personal friends
with whom I have served with honor and distinction. I salute them for
their service to our great Nation.
Today, as our Nation continues to fight the global war on terror, the
Army has been key to providing the military capabilities it needs to
persist in the struggle for liberty and democracy. Through the efforts
of the U.S. Army, the world has been made a more secure, prosperous,
and better place for all of mankind. The courage and dedication of
those soldiers and their families are an inspiration to us all, and may
the rest of us endeavor to be ``Army Strong'' in our own lives.
I am honored to speak in favor of this resolution and urge my
colleagues to join me in support of H. Con. Res. 286 and recognize the
235th birthday of the United States Army.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ORTIZ. I yield such time as my good friend from Texas (Mr.
Edwards) may consume, my friend and colleague and member of the
Appropriations Committee.
Mr. EDWARDS of Texas. I want to thank Chairman Ortiz for the time
today and, most importantly, not only for his service in the U.S. Army
as a soldier but for his leadership as a key subcommittee chairman on
the House Armed Services Committee. The gentleman from Texas works
every day to support our soldiers, not just with his words but with his
deeds, and I'm deeply grateful for that.
Madam Speaker, this resolution honors the 235th anniversary of the
United States Army, and I rise today on behalf of a grateful Nation to
say thank you to every Army soldier, past and present, for their
service to our Nation. We express our gratitude with the humility of
knowing that we could never fully repay the debt of gratitude we owe
our soldiers and their families for the sacrifices they have made to
protect our Nation.
When I drive past Arlington Cemetery each morning on my way to the
U.S. Capitol, I'm always reminded of that sacrifice, sacrifice of those
who, in the words of Lincoln, gave their last full measure of devotion
to country.
When I met with several young amputees and double amputees earlier
this week at a charity event for wounded warriors, I was reminded that
the personal sacrifices of war do not end with the signing of a
ceasefire agreement. When I visit the Waco VA hospital in my district,
I'm reminded that the mental wounds of war can sometimes be as serious
and as long-lasting as the physical wounds of combat.
One of the greatest privileges of my life was to represent for 14
years Fort Hood, Texas, which is now so ably represented by my
colleague and friend, Congressman Carter. Fort Hood is the Army's
largest installation, and I had the privilege of representing it
through three combat deployments.
When I think about our Army soldiers and their sacrifices, I cannot
help but think about the young soldier, probably no older than 20 years
old, I met in December of 1995. My wife was just three days away from
giving birth to our first son J.T., and as an expectant first-time
father, I could not help but be excited as I talked to this young
soldier sitting next to his young, pregnant wife, talking about how
excited I was to become a father.
This soldier, who was about to deploy for Bosnia, said without an air
of complaint in his voice: Sir, I missed the birth of my first son
because I was serving in Iraq, and I will miss the birth of my second
child because I will be serving in Bosnia. He said, Sir, I'm proud to
serve my country.
Madam Speaker, one cannot put a price on the sacrifice of a young
father missing the birth of his two children. There are no makeup days
for missed births, birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. That is
why we are so deeply grateful to our soldiers and their families.
To the spouses, children, parents, and loved ones of our Army
soldiers, I say, you are the unsung heroes of our Nation's defense.
Whether you have worn our Nation's uniform or not, you have truly
served our country. For those family members who have lost loved ones
in combat, we know you continue to sacrifice each and every day of your
life.
Were it not for the U.S. Army and the magnificent men and women who
have served in it and are serving in it today, the world would be a
much different place, a less stable, a less free place.
Just a few weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting Len Lomell. Most
Americans have not heard the name of Len Lomell. He lives in Toms
River, New Jersey, with his wife. My wife and I took our two young
sons, J.T. and Garrison, to meet with Mr. Lomell because in my book, he
is a true American hero. As an Army soldier on D-day in 1944, Len
Lomell joined with Earl Rudder and the Second Battalion Army Rangers
and climbed up that difficult, life-threatening cliff in the face of
German gunfire and grenades to try to knock out the five massive German
guns that could have put at risk the entire Allied invasion of D-day.
Len Lomell, along with one other soldier, went out scouring for the
guns because they had been moved, unknown
[[Page H4566]]
to Army intelligence, been moved away from that cliff that we know as
Pointe du Hoc. It was Len Lomell who found those guns, and while nearly
100 Germans were standing just a few yards away, took thermite grenades
and put those grenades in two different trips back to those guns, put
thermite grenades in those gear mechanisms of those guns and, in doing
so, decommissioned all of them.
The great historian Steven Ambrose said that, next to Eisenhower, Len
Lomell had more to do with the victory of D-day than any living person
in this world.
I have to wonder would the world be different today had it not been
for that great Army soldier Len Lomell and all the soldiers who served
with him and all the soldiers who served before him and those great
ones who have served after him.
Madam Speaker, we can never repay our soldiers such as Len Lomell, or
the young soldier I met at Fort Hood, or Robert L. Howard, who died in
my hometown of Waco this past December and was buried just 4 months ago
in Arlington Cemetery after earning the Congressional Medal of Honor,
the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and eight Purple
Hearts in his five tours of duty in Vietnam.
{time} 1545
We cannot repay the 82,000 U.S. Army soldiers serving in Iraq today
or the 57,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan, but let us always honor
them, not just with our words and resolutions such as this one today,
but with our deeds and our budgets every day.
Our Nation has a moral obligation to provide quality housing and
health care for our troops and their families and first-class education
for their children. Our Nation has a moral obligation to stand up for
America's veterans because they have stood up for us.
A grateful Nation wishes our Army a happy 235th birthday. May God
bless all our soldiers--past, present and future--for risking their
lives to protect our divine gift of freedom.
Mr. DJOU. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my
colleague from Texas (Mr. Carter).
Mr. CARTER. I thank my friend from Hawaii for yielding, and I thank
him for the opportunity to speak on behalf of this important honor we
are bestowing upon the Army by congratulating them on their 235th
birthday.
The first time that I ever realized I was going to be given the honor
to represent the United States Army was when they had a redistricting
in Texas and I realized that my new district was going to have Fort
Hood in it. To be quite honest, it was an overpowering challenge to be
called upon to represent over 50,000 American soldiers and all those
who work with those soldiers. I was a little bit taken aback, quite
frankly. Mr. Edwards, as he pointed out, who has been so helpful to me
in the transition of Fort Hood, Mr. Edwards had represented them for
many years and had done an outstanding job, and I was going to be the
new kid on the block going to Fort Hood. And so I went to my office and
I said, the districts are changing, we've got to go visit soldiers,
we've got to be with soldiers.
I got the opportunity through the Speaker's Office before I had
hardly spent any time at all in Fort Hood to go to Korea to visit
soldiers who were stationed in Korea, many of whom were part of the
soldiers contingency that would return to Fort Hood. I grew up as a
small child with what was earlier today commemorated as the Korean War.
To me it was just a map of the peninsula of Korea that I watched lines
move up and down, but I know from people who came back what a terrible
fight that was. And I know that that is still, to this day, to this
very moment we stand in history, a dangerous place on the Earth.
When we got there, we were given the opportunity, my wife and I, to
go up on the demilitarized zone, the DMZ, where ultimately, as a result
of the cease fire that took place in Korea, they have set up--both
sides, you're kind of across a line looking at each other. In fact, as
recently as 4 or 5 years ago, there have been fatalities on that line.
There is the opportunity for another war to break out, theoretically,
any minute of any day, 24 hours a day and has been since the end of the
Korean War back in the fifties. So it was kind of a challenge just to
go up there.
Then when I got there, there were all these young-faced American
soldiers. My oldest son is a football coach and a baseball coach, and
as I looked at these young men and women that I was being introduced
to; they looked just like the kids that were at the graduation ceremony
just a few months earlier that my son coached and taught.
When it came time for lunch, they gave me an opportunity to sit down
at this table with this bunch of young men and women. I tell you this
because it was kind of unusual, my first time to ever sit down with
just ordinary soldiers and talk to them. And you don't really know what
they're going to say; you're kind of curious. Well, the first thing I
found out was there was one kid there from Killeen Ellison; he played
football for my son when my son coached at Killeen Ellison. There was
another kid there that played baseball for my son when he coached at
Round Rock High School. So I realized that these were just like those
kids that had just graduated.
I went around the table, and this was all a bunch of 18- and 19-year-
old soldiers. They came from small-town and big-town America. They
could have been your friend, your neighbor, your cousin, could have
been your brother or your sister. And there they were, standing up
there, potentially in harm's way on our behalf, where it's cold and
windy and kind of scary.
So that was my first contact. And I asked the question, kind of
naively, Okay, so when are you guys going to be through over here in
Korea? Most of them were going to be out within the next 8 months. And
I said, Where do you want to go when you get out, expecting all kinds
of exotic places. No, sir, we want to go to either Afghanistan or Iraq.
My wife and I both were a little taken aback by that. And so my wife
asked the question, Why would you want to go there? And they gave an
answer that is one of the definitions I think of the United States
Army, they said, Sir, we're warfighters; that's where the war is.
That's what we do for a living. We are the Army.
Now, you hear that from a 19-year-old kid that probably a year and a
half ago had been playing on some practice field someplace in central
Texas and you say to yourself, what magic is it that we get people like
this to come out and do this job and do it willingly and with such
patriotism and such fervor for doing the job they're trained for?
Just recently, less than a few weeks ago--and I shared this at the
birthday party for the Army last night--my wife and I got a very nice
honor of being part of a small delegation of Members of Congress who
were invited to go to the Memorial Day ceremony at Normandy Beach where
our soldiers came ashore and accomplished the impossible. In fact, we
stood on Pointe du Hoc, as Mr. Edwards was describing to you, and we
looked at those cliffs and we looked at the repair being done to
preserve that national treasure of our heroic effort.
We got to see that beach both at high and low tide, and we got to see
the distance those soldiers had to run under heavy, heavy, heavy
automatic weapon fire and artillery fire just to get to that bluff that
they had to climb to get to the fight. You looked at it and you said, I
don't think I could have done it. That is what I thought: I don't think
I could have done it. And then you realize that that's the same kids,
like the same kids I talked to in Korea. They were young people who
were members of the United States Army; they had a job to do and they
did it.
They told us a story about a soldier who landed there, fought his way
across the beach to the bluff, fought his way up the bluff to get off
of that deadly beach only to be wounded in the face--took off the right
side of his face with a machine gun bullet. They wrapped him up on the
top of the bluff and said you need to go back down on the beach for an
aid station. And his comment was, I just fought my way off of that
beach. And they said, no, you've got to be evacuated. Going back down
to be evacuated he was shot four more times, the last of which took off
the left side of his face. And his comment that he made when he came
back to Normandy as a 90-year-old man--and they said he looked fine, he
said they did a fine job on me and I looked good. I have children, I
have grandchildren and I have great grandchildren, and I
[[Page H4567]]
did what I did for them. And I can say that I always wondered if I
really ought to come to this beach because I was only here for 9 hours.
True, I did get five Purple Hearts while I was here, but I wondered if
I was worthy to come back and say I landed here, because I had to be
evacuated.
That special something that makes up the United States Army can't be
described to us in detail. But when you walk among those 10,000 crosses
and stars of David in that cemetery and you realize that those heroes
laying beneath that ground are exactly like those heroes who stand on
the wall in the defense of liberty in Iraq and Afghanistan today, our
soldiers today are exactly like those of the Greatest Generation: they
sacrifice everything.
I'm proud to represent the 31st Congressional District, which is the
home of Fort Hood. Every soldier at Fort Hood has been deployed
multiple times, and they never complain; they just do the job. We
Americans, wherever we are, in this House that we are so blessed to be
able to serve or around the world, should stop every day, when we have
the opportunity, and say thank you to the United States Army for the
quality of human beings they have produced to defend our Nation and for
the patriotic spirit that is part of what makes up the psyche of
America.
Nothing is more precious to us than the United States Army. Nothing
is more honorable to me than being given the opportunity to represent
over 50,000 American soldiers. And so this day I am very happy to say
to our United States Army, happy birthday, U.S. Army. We are proud of
you. God bless you and keep you safe.
Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend and
colleague from New York (Mr. Hall), a member of the Energy and Global
Warming Subcommittee. And as always, he does a great job.
Mr. HALL of New York. I thank the chairman for yielding.
I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 286, introduced by
my colleagues from Texas, and also the co-chairs of the Army Caucus,
Mr. Edwards and Mr. Carter.
I would just like to follow on Mr. Carter's remarks about the modesty
of the veteran who, upon returning to the Normandy beaches, wondered
whether he was worthy after only spending 9 hours there on D-day,
whether he deserved to come back there again.
I have spoken to Army veterans who were wounded and needed help but
say I don't want to go to the VA and ask for help because maybe there's
somebody wounded worse than I was and they need the help more, they
need the money more than I need it. That modesty and sense of self-
sufficiency is admirable, but something that we on the Veterans
Services Committee try to get past and try to convince all veterans
that they have earned the assistance that this country should give
them.
I am somebody who was turned away on induction day when I went for my
physical on Holabird Avenue in Baltimore for various physical reasons;
but as fate would have it, I am now chairing the Veterans' Affairs
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
{time} 1600
We were in the middle of a hearing yesterday on the state of the
Veterans Benefits Administration when I had the honor of welcoming
General David Huntoon, who is, this July, taking over the position of
superintendent at West Point, which is in my district, New York's 19th
Congressional District, in the Hudson Valley. He is replacing General
Hagenbeck, who has served there for longer than I've been in this
Congress.
It is a very proud tradition at the Army's academy. It was founded
shortly after the Revolutionary War at the point of the Hudson River
called World's End. It's where the Hudson takes a 90-degree bend to the
west and then, once again, 90 degrees straight to the north. It is the
point where the Revolutionary Army stretched a chain across the river
to stop the British fleet from sailing up and influencing the battles
that were taking place further north in the Hudson Valley.
To this day, West Point produces our officer corps, including my
nephew, who graduated a couple of weeks ago from West Point. The corps
is shortly going to be leading troops in battle--some older than they,
some younger than they--but the enlisted corps will be looking to our
new officers in the Army for leadership.
I was honored to be at a gathering of appointees who I had helped to
gain admission. Of course, they had to pass the admissions standards to
West Point and to the other service academies as well. I heard a
colonel from the admissions office at West Point say that the best
thing that they could do as officers in the Army is to listen. They
listen to their soldiers whom they lead, and they lead through service.
So, once again, I would like to congratulate and to honor the Army on
this 235th birthday. I urge support of the resolution by all of my
colleagues, and I offer my hopes and prayers that all of our young
officers and enlisted people--and the more senior ones and the more
experienced ones as well--will come back home safely.
Mr. DJOU. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the chairman of the
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Foreign Affairs Committee,
my good friend and colleague from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), my
good friend with whom I have had the privilege of working for many
years.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I do want to thank my good friend and colleague
from Texas as well as our friend from the State of Hawaii for managing
this important resolution.
Madam Speaker, it is ironic that we just got through considering a
resolution which commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
Four of our colleagues were veterans of that terrible conflict:
Congressman Rangel, Congressman Sam Johnson of Texas, Congressman John
Conyers of Michigan, and Congressman Howard Coble of North Carolina.
The Korean War took 30,000 of our soldiers' lives. Let us not forget
their sacrifice as we honor the celebration of the 235th birthday of
the U.S. Army.
It was my honor to have served as a member of the U.S. Army during
the Vietnam conflict, Madam Speaker. I recall the time of the
Revolutionary War and of George Washington, with some 12,000 soldiers
who were not very well trained. They had to go up against some 30,000
British Redcoats, which was the most powerful military organization at
that time, but we had to fight it. We won the war, giving credit to
General George Washington and to those who were able to assist him.
Madam Speaker, as a matter of history of the U.S. Army, during World
War II, some 100,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in
concentration camps. Despite all the discrimination, all the hatred,
and all the racism that was heaped upon the Japanese Americans, they
volunteered and organized the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry brigade,
which was sent to Europe. These two military organizations became among
the most decorated ever in the history of the U.S. Army.
As I recall distinctly of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, some
18,000 individual decorations were given to the men who served, these
Japanese Americans. Some 9,000 Purple Hearts were awarded, some 560
Silver Stars and 52 Distinguished Service Crosses--and ironically, only
one Medal of Honor. Well, we corrected that. As a result of again
reviewing the value and the courage of these Japanese American soldiers
who fought during that time, 19 additional Medals of Honor were awarded
because of what they had done during the war. I just wanted to note
that as a matter of history.
I want to commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) for his
authorship of this resolution. I sincerely thank my good friend,
Congressman Ortiz, for allowing me to say a few words in celebrating
the 235th birthday of the U.S. Army.
Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, at the same time we are honoring these
soldiers, we cannot forget their families, because they have sacrificed
as well.
I have known 29 soldiers who have been killed in the Afghanistan and
Iraq wars. At one of these funerals that I attended, I met a young
soldier who was escorting a body to my district, and he gave me this
poem that I will always carry with me and that I will never forget.
These are the people whose birthday we are celebrating today.
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It is entitled, ``Soldier.''
``I was that which others did not want to be.
``I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do.
``I asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly
accepted the thought of eternal loneliness should I fail.
``I have seen the face of terror, felt the stinging cold of fear, and
enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment's love.
``I have cried, pained, and hoped; but most of all, I have lived
times others would say were best forgotten.
``At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I
was, a soldier.''
This is their birthday, the United States Army.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.
Con. Res. 286, celebrating the 235th birthday of the United States
Army.
First, I would like to thank Chairman Skelton and Ranking Member
McKeon of the Committee on Armed Services for bringing the resolution
to the floor today. I also want to commend my good friend, Congressman
Chet Edwards of Texas, for introducing this resolution as well as all
of the other cosponsors for their rapid and strong support.
The freedoms that this great country was built on were not formed out
of peace and diplomacy, but out of necessity for war. The United States
Army has ensured the safety and continuance of the freedoms won since
the Revolutionary War that declared our independence from Great
Britain. In 1775, the Continental Army was formed representing the
thirteen American colonies consisting of a few thousand soldiers.
Today, according to the Department of Defense, there are over 2 million
personnel serving in our Armed Forces while 675,000 are either active
duty or reserve in the U.S. Army.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely give my thanks to
all the men and women who have served and are serving in the U.S. Army.
As a Vietnam veteran, I appreciate the dedication and service of all
those who have volunteered. The United States military is an essential
component of our country's success and we owe them a debt of gratitude.
Given that the average age of a soldier in the U.S. Army today is 22
years old, I would like to recognize the young men and women of this
country for devoting themselves to maintaining the freedoms and rights
enumerated by our founding fathers since 1776.
The United States Army personnel, as well as all branches of the
military, deserve not only our respect, but our recognition. Our United
States military today is the strongest and fiercest volunteer force
dedicated to protecting and defending our great nation. For this reason
I would like to recognize all U.S. military personnel serving in our
homeland and throughout the world.
For their service, valor and commitment, we must honor the United
States Army. I urge my colleagues to pass H. Con. Res. 286.
Mr. ORTIZ. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garamendi). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
286.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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