[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING TERRAN RENEE TYLER FOR HER POEM ENTITLED, DADDY, I LOVE 
                           YOU, WELCOME HOME

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 10, 2018

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Terran Renee Tyler 
for her poem entitled, Daddy, I Love You, Welcome Home. Terran is from 
Grants Pass, Oregon, and wrote this poem after joining an Oregon Honor 
Flight to the nation's capital with a group of World War II and Korean 
War veterans. She wrote this poem in honor of her father, SPC Tony Ryan 
Tyler, United States Army, and all veterans who lost their lives in 
service to our country in uniform. I'd like to include in the the 
Record the text of the poem.

       Dear Stranger, I look around and take a deep breath staring 
     up at the sky at another sunset. The band starts to play as 
     another flag is raised over a fallen hero's grave. Nameless, 
     faceless His story remains untold--Who is this stranger who 
     died for me at just 28 years old? What were his hopes, his 
     dreams? What did he have to go through so I could be free? So 
     I could make my dreams a reality?
       Dear Stranger, I may never know who you are, But I want to 
     thank you from the bottom of my heart, For every trial that 
     tested your strength, And for every time you've lost your 
     way, Thank you for all your tears and strife, Now here I sit 
     at the end of a very hard life, I know there are many others 
     out there like you, And for each one this word rings true, 
     *Hero*, For no two stories are ever the same, And you don't 
     even know many of these people's names, Like you, they are 
     strangers just the same, Nameless, faceless, Yet driven by 
     the fear in their eyes, You chose to stand and fight, It 
     didn't matter that you too were afraid; It only mattered what 
     was right, A false hero wouldn't have stayed, He wouldn't 
     have willingly welcomed the grave, Thank you all heroes young 
     and old, The men and the women, The living and the dead, For 
     every one of your stories untold. For each hero, a million 
     tears could be shed, But my dear stranger, I would rather 
     celebrate you instead.
       I finish my letter and tear it up, Then I toss it to the 
     ground, as the wind picks up, Scattering the pieces. The 
     sky's grown dark, And the stars are out, My dear stranger, 
     are you up there now? Are you looking down on me, laughing, 
     crying, smiling? Gazing out over the cemetery, I suddenly 
     see, A million buried heroes, standing in uniform by their 
     beds. They're each smiling, and one by one bowing their 
     heads. As soon as I blink though, they all fade away, Leaving 
     one lone hero standing by a grave. He salutes and looks me 
     hard in the eye, I run to hug him, then start to cry, The 
     wind whispers his name in my ear, The one etched in my heart, 
     that I've longed to hear. Though I know I'm really standing 
     there alone, I can't help but whisper, ``Daddy I love you, 
     welcome home''.
       In memory of SPC Tony Ryan Tyler, United States Army.

  I ask my colleagues to join me today in thanking Terran for her 
thoughtful words recognizing the sacrifice of America's brave service 
members and their families. We owe them a profound debt of gratitude 
for their heroism in the defense of the freedoms and liberties we 
cherish as Americans.

                          ____________________