[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5576-5577]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            STANDING BEHIND OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN HARM'S WAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.

[[Page 5577]]


  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, tonight I would like to 
read just a few paragraphs from an article written by Mona Charen, who 
is a well-known journalist here in Washington, DC, and around this 
Nation. The title of her article: ``Is the Marine Corps P.C.?'' PC 
meaning political correct.
  ``Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano was making a six-figure income as 
an energy trader with Goldman Sachs in New York when the World Trade 
Center was attacked. Pantano had friends who worked in the Twin Towers 
and friends among the firefighters who perished trying to save them.
  ``This Marine veteran had already served his country in the first 
Gulf War, set aside his career, which also included work in film and 
television, kissed his wife and two children good-bye, and headed to 
Quantico, Virginia, for officer training school.''
  I continue Ms. Charen's comments in her article: ``A Marine Corps 
colleague asked, `How many guys do you know who would drop 100 grand a 
year to go sleep in fighting holes in the nasty mud and dust for, what, 
25 grand a year?'
  ``There are a few, and the rest of us owe them more than we can 
possibly express, which is why it is shocking to learn that Pantano may 
now be facing murder charges.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I am on the floor. I want to read from part 
of a resolution, H. Res. 167, which I introduced the day before we left 
for Easter:
  ``On April 15th, 2004, Second Lieutenant Pantano led a platoon in 
Mahmudiyah, Iraq, that apprehended two Iraqis who were suspected 
insurgents.
  ``Second Lieutenant Pantano ordered the suspected insurgents to be 
detained, then ordered them to search their own vehicle in the event 
that it contained explosives.
  ``The vehicle's seats were not bolted down, a tactic commonly used by 
insurgents to retrieve weapons, and nails and bolts were found in the 
trunk of the vehicle, items commonly found in improvised explosive 
devices.
  ``In response to threatening movements by the suspected insurgents, 
Second Lieutenant Pantano took action in self-defense that resulted in 
their deaths.
  ``Accusations that Second Lieutenant Pantano's actions were something 
other than self-defense did not surface until almost 2 months after the 
incident.
  ``In his Combat Fitness Report dated August 5, 2004, nearly 4 months 
after the incident, Second Lieutenant Pantano's superior officers gave 
the following evaluation of his performance from March through July, 
2004.''
  I am just going to read a couple of these, Mr. Speaker. One, ``He is 
a Marine who `leads from the front, always, and balances his aggressive 
style with true concern for the welfare of his Marines.'
  ``He was `ready for increased responsibility,' and was a soldier who 
the Marine Corps should `retain, promote and assign to challenging 
assignments.'''
  Now, ``Therefore be it,'' Mr. Speaker, this is the close of my 
resolution, ``Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano, United States Marine 
Corps, was defending the cause of freedom, democracy, and liberty in 
his actions of April 15, 2004, that resulted in the deaths of two 
suspected Iraqi insurgents and that subsequently have given rise to 
certain charges against him.
  ``The United States Government should dismiss all charges against 
Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano arising from the actions referred to 
in paragraph (1).''
  I hope my colleagues that may be listening tonight will join me or at 
least look on our Web site or call our office and ask about this 
resolution, H. Res. 167. I can also say, Mr. Speaker, that his mother, 
who I have spoken to three times, who is a wonderful lady, has
set up a Web site called www.defendthedefenders.com.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, last Friday I went down to Wilmington, North 
Carolina, where the American Legion was holding a barbecue and a fish 
fry to help Lieutenant Pantano with his defense. I have never met such 
a fine young man in all my entire life. He's 29 years old, a beautiful 
wife and two children. I met them and I hope that my colleagues here 
tonight and those in the office will look at this resolution, H. Res. 
167. We need to stand behind our men and women who are in harm's way in 
Afghanistan and Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, I close by asking the good Lord in heaven to please 
bless our men and women in uniform and their families, and I ask the 
good Lord in heaven to please bless the United States of America and to 
help us find peace in this world, and May God please, please bless 
America.

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