[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 169 (Saturday, December 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2187-E2189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              OFFICE OF THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 17, 2010

  Mrs. EMERSON. Madam Speaker, I submit the following.

       Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for coming to the oldest post 
     of the Marine Corps, the Marine Barracks of Washington, D.C. 
     A little history on this hall--it is now called the Crawford 
     Hall, named after that great band director that you see on 
     the wall over there. But this was the original stomping 
     grounds of John Philip Sousa.
       And this was where John Philip Sousa, who was raised in 
     Washington, D.C. a block-and-a-half from the Marine Barracks 
     of Washington, wrote his many, many military marches. So this 
     is sacred ground for the Marine Corps . . . the grounds were 
     actually discovered by the then-Commandant Lieutenant Colonel 
     Burrows, and the President of the United States, Thomas 
     Jefferson.
       It's good to have you here. We're honored to have many 
     distinguished guests with us today.
       First, the chairman's lovely wife, Patty. Patty, thank you 
     for braving the rainstorm. I was watching the weather--being 
     a good pilot, I pay very close attention to the weather--and 
     I managed to pick the one day that there was supposed to be 
     heavy rain and a flood in Washington, so I'm glad you're 
     here. And for everybody else that managed to gut it out, 
     thank you for being here.

[[Page E2188]]

       From the great state of Missouri, Representative Emanuel 
     Cleaver is here; Representative Todd Akin, Representative 
     Blaine Luetkemeyer, Representative Paul Broun of the United 
     States Marine Corps, from the great state of Georgia. From 
     the great state of Arkansas, Representative Vic Snyder, 
     United States Marine Corps; and Representative Jane Harman 
     from the great state of California.
       The 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, and former 
     National Security Advisor, General Jim Jones, and the former 
     first lady of the Marine Corps, his lovely bride Diane. The 
     Under Secretary of the Air Force, former chief of staff of 
     the House Armed Services Committee, and a secret and latent 
     admirer of the United States Marine Corps is with us, [the 
     Honorable Erin Conaton].
       A particularly warm welcome to the men and women who really 
     do the heavy-lifting for the committee: Paul Arcangeli is 
     here, the chief of staff of the House Armed Services 
     Committee. Debra Wada is here, the deputy staff director for 
     the House Armed Services Committee. Paul Lewis is here today, 
     general counsel to the House Armed Services Committee, and 
     Will Ebbs is here as a professional staff member and a close 
     personal friend of the United States Marine Corps.
       General Joe Dunford, Assistant Commandant of the Marine 
     Corps and his bride Ellyn are with us. Sergeant Major Carlton 
     Kent, sitting at the head table, Sergeant Major of the Marine 
     Corps; the current first lady of the Marine Corps, my lovely 
     bride Bonnie, sitting next to the chairman and a host of 
     fellow general officers from around the national capital 
     region are all here.
       Welcome on this radiant morning as we gather to pay tribute 
     to a national hero, an all-around friend to men and women 
     from all branches of service, but in particular, to the 
     United States Marine Corps.
       I'm keenly aware of the chairman's adherence to punctuality 
     during committee hearings, having testified before him more 
     than one or two times. So before he puts down the gavel on 
     me, I'll call the chaplain up, we'll ask for grace and then 
     we'll be on for breakfast, and I'll join you after breakfast. 
     Bon appetit.


                        AFTER BREAKFAST REMARKS

       [Someone asked me], ``How do you like your new job?'' And I 
     think I've been in it about six weeks. I said, ``Oh, it's 
     great. There's nothing going on here, just JSF, EFV, `don't 
     ask, don't tell'--among a few other things.''
       Speaking of ``don't ask, don't tell,'' I talked to Admiral 
     Willard yesterday, who is the PACOM commander out at Camp 
     Smith in Hawaii, and we were talking about some joint matters 
     and personnel matters and that kind of stuff.
       And I said, ``Hey, Bob, how's Korea going?'' He said, ``You 
     know, this is--as you might imagine--consuming an awful lot 
     of my time.'' And we talked about Korea for just a little 
     bit. And I said, ``Bob, I'll make a deal: I'll trade you 
     `don't ask, don't tell' for North Korea.'' And there was 
     silence on the phone. For 40 seconds, you could sense that he 
     was churning the idea--he says, ``No, I'll take North 
     Korea.''
       While we gather here, it's 9:00 am, and it's about 5:30 in 
     the evening in the Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. 
     The sun has just gone down. The night is beginning to cool 
     off rapidly, and Marines are finding their way in from 
     patrols and convoys from all over those 10,000 square miles. 
     And they're coming in, looking for some place to eat chow.
       And I doubt seriously that the chow that they're going to 
     find will be quite as good as we have here this morning. 
     Contrary to popular belief, I did not fix this breakfast at 
     2:00 this morning. It was done by the great chefs that you 
     see running around in here and taking such great care of us. 
     But the 20,000 Marines and sailors will have just come in [to 
     their Forward Operating Bases] all across Helmand Province. 
     Some are getting ready to go out on their night patrols.
       The [Marines there] have many things in common. They're 
     tired and they're hungry. Some will have had a rougher day 
     than others. We are in a particularly nasty part of 
     Afghanistan. There is much good news in the Helmand province, 
     but there are also some tough spots that the Marines and the 
     sailors, and those coalition and allied forces are working 
     their way through, up in the northeast corner [of the Helmand 
     Province].
       But they all have one thing in common. They may be tired; 
     they may be scared. They may have just seen one of their 
     brothers fall. They may be hungry. But all in all, all 20,000 
     are a happy lot. Chairman Skelton and I were out on the 
     portico and watched Old Glory being raised up over Marine 
     Barracks Washington, and a lone bugler played. And I was 
     standing there alongside the chairman and thinking, what is 
     it about Marines that they find solace in something as 
     heartwarming as raising the American flag?
       I thought about it and I came to the conclusion that there 
     really are about three things that live in the soul of every 
     U.S. Marine. They're almost spiritual in nature. I'm not 
     talking about Baptist or Catholic or Jewish. I'm talking 
     about that sense of spirit that resides in a force such as 
     the United States Marine Corps. These spiritual things define 
     who we are and they define and help explain, to some measure, 
     why we've been able to do the many things the Marine Corps 
     has done over its 235 years of service to our nation.
       First, all Marines have a love of country. It's at their 
     core; it's at their very roots. They believe in the ideals of 
     our nation and they feel it's their duty as a citizen to 
     serve this country in some capacity. They chose the Marine 
     Corps over other options. We didn't join them; they joined 
     us.
       Second, Marines are willing to sacrifice in service to our 
     country and in service to their fellow Americans--through 
     frequent deployments, through separation from family members 
     and a willingness to give their life for their country and 
     their fellow Marines. This is the life of a U.S. Marine.
       Finally, a commitment to a higher calling--a calling that 
     is larger than themselves, that binds them and all Marines 
     together. This commitment to our Corps, to our country and 
     all that it represents can be seen here at Marine Barracks 
     Washington, onboard the mighty Navy vessels of the 15th, the 
     26th and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Units--which are at 
     sea today as we have breakfast, and in the Helmand province, 
     with the 20,000 Marines and sailors in southern Afghanistan.
       Ladies and gentleman, Chairman Isaac Newton Skelton, IV, 
     known to many as Ike, is a true patriot, an American 
     statesman, and most notably, he has lived his life in service 
     to our great nation. Like our Marines, Chairman Skelton has 
     loved his country above all else, having served it faithfully 
     as a U.S. Representative for over 33 years.
       He has willingly sacrificed what most Americans hold dear, 
     a private and personal life. He has sacrificed his family 
     time, his time away from his wife, from his children, and 
     now, from his grandchildren. And like many of his fellow 
     Marines, he has grown old during a time of war. And lastly, 
     no one can doubt his willingness to be part of something 
     that's greater than himself, as he has served his fellow 
     Americans for [these many] years.
       Born and raised in the great state of Missouri--or as he 
     would say, Mi-zoor-uh--he's a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the 
     University of Missouri. He was a Missouri state senator 
     before he joined Congress. And since 1977, Chairman Skelton 
     has represented the 4th district of the ``Show-Me'' state, an 
     area where the chairman's hero president, Harry S. Truman, 
     was born and raised. For 33 years, Chairman Skelton has kept 
     his constituents and our nation's best interests at heart.
       However, for all the countless things he has done in 
     Congress, he is known best for his love and care of the U.S. 
     military serviceman and woman. He was instrumental in the 
     establishment of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. I'm told the only 
     reason his name is not on that bill is because at the time he 
     was too junior a U.S. congressman. But historians say that it 
     was largely his commitment to the bill that helped carry it 
     across the finish line.
       Chairman Skelton is known throughout the military as the 
     father of professional military education. Our own Marine 
     Corps University exists down at Quantico in its current form 
     almost singularly due to the support of Chairman Skelton. It 
     exists with a robust staff, professorships, research 
     capability, all because of your efforts, Chairman. You have 
     always recognized the importance of a thinking officer corps.
       His prescience is paying huge dividends throughout the 
     world today, as we continue to fight a complex and adaptive 
     enemy in some of the world's toughest spots, all with the 
     keenly educated minds of our young men and women. He has been 
     a leading voice in seeing the fight through in Afghanistan. 
     Before it was popular, he recognized the importance of a 
     stronger military presence in Afghanistan, knowing that 
     failure would only strengthen the resolve of a vicious 
     ideology.
       Chairman Skelton is no stranger to the U.S. Marine Corps. 
     Each year since 2001, when U.S. Marines from Task Force 58--
     5,000 strong--made their debut in Afghanistan, and throughout 
     the many long years in Iraq, Chairman Skelton travelled to 
     theater over and over again to speak and spend time with men 
     and women from all services, but in particular to his 
     Marines, always ready to provide help in any way possible.
       He is equally comfortable talking to a lance corporal, a 
     machine gunner, or a three-star general. And if you asked him 
     this morning, he would probably tell you he'd rather talk to 
     the lance corporal. And I can't say I blame him.
       For those of you who don't know, Chairman Skelton is a 
     military history buff. He is particularly fascinated with the 
     World War II Pacific campaign, so much so that on a trip last 
     year through the Pacific region--many of you that are here 
     having breakfast with us this morning were on that trip--he 
     made a point to schedule a stop on the island of Iwo Jima, 
     where he laid a wreath at the memorial on Mount Suribachi.
       He has been previously honored by the Marine Corps on three 
     different occasions. He is the 1994 recipient of the Marine 
     Corps University's Chapman Medallion, honoring his efforts to 
     enhance professional military education in our Corps. He is a 
     2001 recipient of the Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award, 
     honoring his leadership and support of the United States 
     Marine Corps. He is an honorary graduate of Marine Corps 
     Command and Staff College.
       I spoke earlier of the three almost spiritual things that 
     embody a U.S. Marine: love of country, willingness to 
     sacrifice, commitment to something larger than themselves. 
     Ladies and gentlemen, Ike Skelton has all three of these 
     characteristics in spades. Thus it is fitting and appropriate 
     that we recognize him for his unyielding support and devotion 
     to corps and country.

[[Page E2189]]

       Chairman, today you join your father, who was a Navy man. 
     You join your son Jim, who is an Army colonel, and your son 
     Ike, who is a Navy captain. And as a proud member of the U.S. 
     military, you join them today in the ranks. And now, sir, you 
     have true family bragging rights on all of them because 
     you're about to become a member of the world's finest 
     fighting force.
       In the 235-year history of the United States Marine Corps, 
     only 73 other Americans have been awarded the title honorary 
     Marine. It was established to reinforce the special bond 
     between Marines and the American people. Finally, it was 
     established in recognition of individuals who have 
     distinguished themselves through noteworthy service to Corps 
     and country.
       Chairman, in honor of all that you stand for, in honor of 
     all that you have accomplished, and in honor of all that you 
     have done for the United States of America and its Marine 
     Corps, you are, without question, deserving of the title of 
     United States Marine. Chairman, will you please join me up 
     front?


                                CITATION

       To all who shall see these presents greetings, know ye that 
     reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, 
     fidelity and abilities of the Honorable Ike Skelton, I do 
     appoint him an honorary Marine of the United States Marine 
     Corps for his unyielding support and devotion to Corps and 
     country. In testimony thereof, I, General James F. Amos, 
     Commandant of the Marine Corps, have hereunto inscribed my 
     name. Done in the city of Washington, this first day of 
     December, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and in 
     the 235th year of the independence of the United States of 
     America.
       You have plenty of things hanging in your office, and I'd 
     appreciate it if you'd take [one of] them down [to make room 
     for this citation]. But this is your certificate of being a 
     United States Marine. Chairman, you are loved by those 
     202,000 Marines that are on active duty and the hundreds of 
     thousands that have had your fingerprints on them over the 
     last many years that you've been not only a U.S. Congressman, 
     but, in particular, the Chairman.
       Sir, you have loved your Marines. You have loved our men 
     and women. And we are very, very grateful for all that you 
     have done for us. It is our pleasure and our honor to make 
     you a United States Marine.

                          ____________________