[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H7837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING IKE SKELTON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Tim Murphy) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, what does an Irish 
Pennsylvania boy have to do with Ike Skelton standing up here and 
talking? Actually, I have roots in Missouri. In Farmington, my 
ancestor, Sarah Barton Murphy, started the first Saturday school west 
of the Mississippi in Missouri. And that was a little story I told Ike. 
I don't know if he remembers it.
  But it comes from times that Ike and I traveled together on 
congressional delegation trips. He had asked me to travel with him to 
Afghanistan and Iraq at Thanksgiving--we did that twice--giving up time 
with our families by traveling out there to be with the soldiers. Small 
codels as they were, but I think they meant a lot certainly to the 
soldiers that were sacrificing so much for our country. And I thought 
it pretty amazing that here was this gentleman, in the truest sense of 
the word, being willing to giving up his holidays with family to be 
over there, and I was certainly pleased and honored to go with him.
  And we had some interesting times. A meeting with General Petraeus, a 
meeting with General McChrystal, seeing the ins and outs of what takes 
place in a war zone, talking to soldiers in the most candid ways about 
the stress that they face. And I know, for me, I learned a great deal 
from them, but I also learned a great deal from my friend, Congressman 
Skelton, about the ins and outs of what takes place in the military 
through his chairmanship and ranking membership of what he's learned 
from the House Armed Services Committee.
  But there's also things you learn about a person under times of 
stress.
  Ike and I have the dubious distinction of being the only two Members 
of Congress ever injured in Iraq, and it happened on a dark night. We 
were traveling, after having met, I believe, with General Casey, on a 
road back to the Baghdad Airport when this up-armored minibus we were 
traveling in--referred to affectionately as an ice cream truck--
suddenly hit something. We heard a boom. We're up in the air, bounced, 
rolled over the side, and both of us slid inside the interior. I was 
injured a bit. That doesn't matter. Ike had his own symptoms. And a lot 
of chaos occurred at that moment. And we learned what happens on a 
military site when there's an injury that occurs, that soldiers are 
swarming around securing the perimeter, ambulances arriving trying to 
take care of both Ike and me at that moment. An incredible dedication 
and skill of these soldiers. We had intended to visit a hospital but 
not in a horizontal position.
  What occurred afterwards, taking us in an ambulance, and we're both 
in some pain--nothing compared to what our soldiers face. But an 
interesting little thing happened with one of the staffers at that 
point. Erin reached in and patted my toe and said, ``I'll pray for 
you.'' And the ambulance door closed. And Ike, always a man of good 
humor, said, What am I? Chopped liver? What's wrong here? No one's 
going to pray for me? He had issues, too.
  We went to a hospital then in Baghdad. Some difficult moments. 
Hearing the cries of a young boy whose room was near ours who, we 
understand, his parents had just been killed, and he was hurt, too.
  And then traveling over to Balad where our soldiers who were wounded 
pretty severely were all being prepped to take to Landstuhl Hospital in 
Germany, and to see what takes place as people with some pretty severe 
injuries were prepared, sometimes on basically a traveling intensive 
care unit with doctors and nurses around them.
  And Ike and I are both on our helicopter trip over there. And having 
those moments when you're lying on this litter on this same helicopter 
that carries so many of our wounded soldiers, it gives you something to 
think about. And of course traveling over to Landstuhl on this big C-17 
for several hours' flight.
  But now and then I would hear this voice coming from either above me 
or below me, wherever we happened to be on that particular flight, 
there's the voice of Ike saying, Well, what do you think about this? 
Well, we're learning something here. Always just that little bit of 
humor and putting that little bit of perspective on an otherwise pretty 
stressful situation--not only of what was happening to us but being 
around all of these wounded and all of these doctors and nurses doing 
so much.
  I'm sure Ike has lots of variations on the stories he tells, but what 
is important to hear is, after we came back, he had of course made sure 
that that one staffer who tapped my toe and said ``I'll pray for you'' 
understood that he wanted prayers, too. And it was some time after 
that, I believe, Ike, that what you received was a note that a mass was 
being said for you by the Pope. So you certainly outranked me on what 
was happening there.

                              {time}  1830

  But it's his humor, it's his knowledge, it's his incredible class. A 
lot of times Americans may hear criticisms of Members of Congress. And 
you may hear the bipartisan attacks on each other, which is hardly 
bipartisan. That makes the evening news. When people call each other 
names, when they insult each other, when they play political games, 
that's going to make the front page. What you don't hear about is the 
genuine friendships and respect we have for each other.
  And let me tell you, Ike, I can't think of anybody in this House that 
I have more friendship and respect for than what you have taught me. 
The people of Missouri ought to be real proud that you served them for 
so long. I know they are. And I am mighty proud to have had the honor 
to serve with you, and a man that I can always call my friend. God 
bless you and thank you.

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