[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11794]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       WELCOME HOME DUSTIN TULLER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2004

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome home Army 
Staff Sergeant Dustin Tuller and to thank him for patriotically 
answering his nation's call to duty.
  America has put our power at the service of principle. We believe 
that liberty is the design of nature, the direction of history, and 
that human fulfillment and excellence come in the responsible exercise 
of liberty. Last, we believe that freedom--the freedom we prize--is not 
for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind.
  By definition, the success of freedom rests upon the choices and the 
courage of free peoples, and upon their willingness to sacrifice. In 
the trenches of World War I, through a two-front war in the 1940s, the 
difficult battles of Korea and Vietnam, to battling the faceless enemy 
in the war on terror and in missions of rescue and liberation on nearly 
every continent, Americans have amply displayed our willingness to 
sacrifice for liberty and freedom.
  Just two days before Christmas, Dustin had just positioned his squad 
outside a building in Iraq to provide security during the raid when the 
soldiers came under fire. Despite being shot four times in the legs and 
pelvis, he returned gunfire and started looking for a concealed 
position. Soon after, Dustin arrived at a hospital and learned that he 
would have to have both legs amputated. Having hopes of becoming a 
physical education teacher, the interruption in his life has not 
deterred his plans.
  On a daily basis, we are reminded of the tremendous costs that 
freedom often requires. Throughout the history of the United States of 
America, men, woman and families have given their all to further our 
constitutional hopes and dreams.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress; we are humbled 
by and appreciative of men, women and families like Dustin Tuller's who 
are willing to answer their nation's call.
  Thank you Dustin, Alisha, Dillyn, Zachery, Dammyn, and Lexi. We all 
owe you a heartfelt debt of gratitude. Welcome Home.

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