[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 15, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E43-E44]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE OF PFC GARFIELD M. LANGHORN

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                           HON. LEE M. ZELDIN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 15, 2019

  Mr. ZELDIN. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to honor the service and 
sacrifice of hometown hero and Medal of Honor recipient PFC Garfield M. 
Langhorn, from Riverhead, New York, who, 50 years ago today, saved the 
lives of his platoon members at just 20 years old, by throwing himself 
on a live grenade in Pleiku Province in Vietnam on January 15, 1969.
  PFC Langhorn served as a radio operator with Troop C, 7th Squadron, 
17th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, when his unit

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attempted to rescue the crews of a downed American helicopter. Finding 
no surviving crew, PFC Langhorn and his unit were returning the fallen 
aviators when they came under heavy fire from North Vietnamese forces. 
Under the cover of darkness, the North Vietnamese began to advance, 
throwing a hand grenade in front of PFC Langhorn who was just a few 
feet from his injured comrades.
  It was in that moment, PFC Langhorn selflessly chose the courageous 
act President Lincoln once referred to as ``the last full measure of 
devotion''--to his brothers, his fellow soldiers and his country. In 
that moment, he ``unhesitatingly threw himself on the grenade, scooped 
it beneath his body and absorbed the blast,'' according to his Medal of 
Honor Citation and the first-hand accounts of his fellow soldiers he 
saved.
  For his extraordinary act of bravery, PFC Langhorn received a series 
of awards, including the highest, most prestigious personal military 
decoration--the Medal of Honor, and, most recently, the Riverhead Post 
Office was dedicated in his name. There is no doubt, PFC Langhorn has 
earned these commendations, but they mean little if we forget to look 
beyond the decorations and forever remember and honor the actions of 
the 20-year-old young man who earned them.
  In saving his fellow soldiers, PFC Langhorn's life was extinguished 
too soon, but as President Lincoln continued, ``we here highly resolve 
that these dead shall not have died in vain.'' Today, we must challenge 
ourselves as Americans to pick up that torch, to embody the bravery, 
selflessness and commitment to our great country. There is no memorial, 
no medal and no post office that can bring back PFC Langhorn, but he 
can live eternally in all of us, in our actions and in our hearts

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