[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 20 (Wednesday, February 3, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         BRIAN SICKNICK FUNERAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAN CRENSHAW

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 3, 2021

  Mr. CRENSHAW. Madam Speaker, another hero laid to rest here in 
Arlington Cemetery. I know this place well. Some of my dearest friends 
are here.
  This is a place for America's best. It is not just that these men and 
women are heroes, of course they are, it is that they are our best. And 
in my experience, we always seem to lose the best of us.
  Brian lived with purpose. He lived asking what he could do for his 
country, for his community, and small animals. Sandra tells me he was 
the type of guy that would get out of the car and run across the 
parking lot to move a small turtle to safety. He was a real man, 
because real men are comfortable owning two small Dachshunds, as Brian 
did. I am not saying that just because I also have two small 
Dachshunds, I am saying it because it's true. Real men don't need to 
prove anything with big dogs.
  Everyone has purpose in this life, I firmly believe that. You're here 
for a reason. But not enough of us act as if that is true. Brian did.
  He lived for his family, his mother, Gladys, his father, Charles, his 
brothers, Ken and Craig, and his girlfriend, Sandra. He joined the Air 
Force with a mission to serve our nation's defense. He lived for 
others. After he was injured on January 6th he spent his last remaining 
hours texting fellow officers and checking in on them. People needed 
Brian, because he was a good man, because he was one of our best.
  There is another common thread that links those buried here at 
Arlington with Brian. These are protectors. These are the men and women 
that stand in the breach. That gap between the helpless and the 
aggressor, between right and wrong, between good and evil.
  Many like to think they too could stand in that gap, but they'd be 
wrong. So many these days think they know better, think they could do 
it better, and they'll be the first to tell you so.
  But this job is not for the weak and loud, it is for the strong and 
silent. It is for the brave, those like Brian that quietly and 
professionally carry out their duty. Because that gap that they stand 
in isn't always so clear. It's messy. It's complicated. It's not always 
obvious what is right and what is wrong, who the victims are, or who is 
good or bad.
  And so, we take our best, and we say go forth and stand in the breach 
and figure it out. Be there to make those split-second choices so that 
we don't have to. Be there to keep our families safe so that we don't 
have to. Go overseas and make sure the enemy doesn't come here so that 
we don't have to.
  You be there, and the rest of us will be here waiting, to judge you 
and second guess you.
  We ask them to do the impossible, we don't even ask that nicely, and 
they do it with pride and with honor.
  If I may be so bold as to guess what Brian might have asked of us. I 
think that he, and the heroes buried here with him, might simply ask us 
all to be better. I think they appreciate our gratitude and our 
deference to their memory, but I think most of all they just want us to 
be better.
  And I don't mean trying to make others better, or even our country 
better. I mean I think they want us to start with ourselves. To make 
ourselves better. Because that is in fact the hard work.
  He might ask us to ask ourselves what went so wrong--in our country 
and in our hearts--that fellow Americans did what they did to Brian on 
that day. He might ask us to reflect for a moment before we lash out at 
each other, before we blame, before we chastise, before we judge, 
before we lose patience. He might ask us to recall that the greatness 
of the American spirit lies in a sense of responsibility, of 
accountability, and perhaps a bit of appreciation for freedom.
  Being better means decency. It means citizenship. Living with the 
duty that Brian exemplified. It means running toward danger not because 
there is glory in doing so but because you must. It means trying to 
live up to the memory of the heroes buried here, to be worthy of their 
sacrifice.
  This past year has been a low point, no doubt, but it is men like 
Brian that remind us of the grit and tenacity and good character that 
America was built on. He may not be with us anymore, but if we are to 
honor him then we should do so by using his memory as a reminder of 
what this country can be.
  A reminder that there are indeed more like him. A reminder that the 
bravery and love inside of Brian Sicknick is not peculiar to him, but 
part of the American DNA. A reminder that our duty is to make these 
heroes proud, prove to them that their sacrifice was for a country 
worth sacrificing for. That we are a people worth sacrificing for. With 
men like Brian standing in the gap, it is hard to imagine that we are 
not.
  This is still the greatest country on earth. This is still the great 
American experiment that has done more good for mankind than any other 
civilization in history. We will not forget that fact just because 
times are hard. We will persevere and strive to be better and do 
justice to the memory of those buried here.
  May Officer Brian Sicknick rest easy here on these hallowed grounds. 
He is in good company. He has undoubtedly earned his place here amongst 
America's best. God bless him. God bless this great country.
  Never Forget.

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