[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE BERT BRADY HOMECOMING COMMITTEE

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, ABC Nightly News named Bert Brady Citizen of 
the Week. Here is why. Bert Brady is a 69-year-old veteran. He gets up 
nearly every day for the last year and heads over to the Dallas-Fort 
Worth Airport. He is there to do something that was not done for him. 
He is there to welcome soldiers coming home.
  Bert organizes folks to go down with him to the airport and greet the 
soldiers coming home from the war. Sometimes these greeters number in 
the hundreds. Most of the citizens are veterans of Korea or Vietnam, 
but they also include Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, all to say ``thank 
you'' to the troops.
  As Bert pointed out, there was no one there when our soldiers came 
home from Korea or from Vietnam. These dedicated individuals are making 
sure no soldier feels they are forgotten when they are returning from 
this war.
  People line up along the paths. They cheer the soldiers as they come 
through the path, shaking their hands, giving them hugs, telling them 
thank you, and waving American flags. For our troops that moment is 
powerful.
  When asked why he is so driven, Bert spoke of one soldier who shook 
his hand and said, ``Mister, I will never forget you. It's the greatest 
thing that ever happened to me, this homecoming reception.''
  So we Americans thank you, Bert Brady.
  And that's just the way it is.

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