[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              WAR IN IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 3 minutes.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of debate going on here in 
Washington, D.C. over our reasons for going to war in Iraq. Yesterday, 
I had the privilege of meeting with some men I believe we should hear 
more from. They were Marines injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom 
currently being treated at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Marines like Mark 
Graunke, Jr., a staff sergeant who lost his left hand, three of his 
fingers and his left eye and took shrapnel in removing landmines in 
theater on July 8 earlier this month.
  What Mark told me, Congressman, I am not a hero, I was just doing my 
job for the good old United States of America, and it was a privilege. 
Then I talked to another sergeant whose name I will omit, but a man who 
the Navy corpsman told me may not make it. He was flanked by his mom 
and his dad and the mother of his two children and he looked me in the 
eye, with tubes coming out, and he simply said, Congressman, the only 
thing I worry about is that we will pull out early and we will not 
finish the job and it will mean all of the sacrifices we made over 
there were for nothing.
  Then there was Michael Jones who took an RPG shell in the leg, looked 
me in the eye and told me he was glad the man fired at him instead of 
the vehicle where five of his fellow Marines were doing a search. I 
said, Lance Corporal Jones, are you telling me you are glad you were 
shot with a rocket in the leg? He said, yes, sir, I am sure it saved 
lives.
  These are all men that know one thing that the American people know, 
that freedom is worth fighting for, freedom is worth dying for. It was 
about the freedom of the Iraqi people and securing the safety and 
freedom of the American people that this President moved against a 
brutal tyrant in Saddam Hussein, who most assuredly coddled terrorists 
in his 30-year reign in Iraq, and admitted to the weapons of mass 
destruction and used weapons of mass destruction against his own 
countrymen and against his neighbors.
  Mr. Speaker, these brave Marines currently being treated at Bethesda 
Naval Hospital taught me much, reminded me of much: that freedom is 
worth fighting for, freedom is worth dying for, and we will stay the 
course until we deliver freedom to the families and children and the 
legacy of Iraq.

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