[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22653-22654]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       WHERE DO WE GET SUCH MEN?

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, as he stood on the beaches of Normandy, 
taking stock of what it cost to invade Europe, then-General Eisenhower 
asked, ``Where do we get such men?'' I think he would have asked a 
similar question last week. As Hurricane Isabel bore down on the east 
coast, Washington did what it often does: It panicked. We closed up the 
government and shut down the schools. But a different story was 
unfolding at Arlington National Cemetery.
  That solemn ground is the resting place for 260,000 soldiers. It is a 
site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, built to honor those who died 
for our country, but whose remains were never identified. Members of 
the 3rd Infantry Regiment stand guard at the Tomb 24 hours a day. They 
are known as ``The Old Guard.'' When Hurricane Isabel hit the 
Washington, D.C., area, it packed winds up to 75 miles per hour and 
torrential rains.
  Cemetery officials relieved The Old Guard of their duty until the 
storm passed, but The Old Guard refused to leave. Staff Sergeant Alfred 
Lanier said the Tomb is something ``we cherish.'' Sergeant Christopher 
Holmes said

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leaving the Tomb is ``never an option for us,'' saying he was prepared 
to die while guarding it. We can only join with President Eisenhower in 
asking, ``Where do we get such men?''

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