[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16128-16129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOSS OF OFFICER CHESTNUT AND DETECTIVE GIBSON

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, if you visit the U.S. Capitol through a 
certain entrance on the first floor of the East Front, you will see a 
plaque by the door. The plaque is in honor and remembrance of Capitol 
Police Officer Jacob Joseph Chestnut and Detective John Michael Gibson, 
where 10 years ago today they gave their lives in defense of this 
Capitol.
  Their deaths remind us that, just as bravery was required from our 
Founders who built the Capitol, the bravery of great men is required 
today to protect and keep it. The names of Chestnut and Gibson will 
forever be remembered among American patriots.
  Officer Chestnut, or J.J. to his friends, was 58 and a father of 
five. An 18-year veteran of the force, he was just months away from 
retirement. He was also an Air Force veteran of 20 years who had served 
in Vietnam and Taiwan, where he met his wife.
  J.J. lovingly tended a vegetable garden in the back yard of his 
house, and neighbors often saw him practicing his golf swing in his 
front lawn.
  John Gibson also had 18 years of service with the Capitol Police. A 
friend of his recalls that just a few days before the shooting, John 
told him he had 



[[Page 16129]]



never had to draw his weapon on the job. Forty-two 
years old, he had three children, and was a native of Massachusetts.
  Friends recall John's ardent love for his Boston sports teams--the 
Bruins, the Red Sox, and U Mass basketball.
  Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson were the first Capitol Police 
officers to die in the line of duty. As we honor them today, we also 
honor the hundreds of brave men and women of that force who put their 
lives on the line to protect this House of democracy.
  To the casual tourist, Capitol Police officers may just seem like 
friendly people who stand guard at the doors. But in truth, they are an 
elite, highly trained force charged with a critical mission. In moments 
of crisis, when not just lives but our very system of government is 
threatened, they stand ready at the front lines.
  We saw again on September 11, 2001, how the Capitol can be a target 
for terror. And we saw again the bravery of the Capitol Police, who 
rushed into the building to rescue others when most of us were busy 
rushing out.
  As my friend, the majority leader, a former Capitol Police officer 
himself; certainly know, police work is both an honorable job and a 
dangerous one.
  In fact, in the 10 years since the loss of Officer Chestnut and 
Detective Gibson, 24 peace officers in my home State of Kentucky have 
also been lost in the line of duty. If there is no objection, Mr. 
President, I ask unanimous consent that their names be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Kentucky Peace Officers Killed in the Line of Duty, July 24, 1998-July 
                               24, 2008.

     Regina Woodward Nickles
     Joey Tremayne Vincent
     Jason Wayne Cammack
     William J. Collins Jr.
     Billy Ray Walls III
     Charles Brown Morgan Jr.
     Samuel Wilson Catron
     Howard Callis
     Ray B. Franklin
     Eddie Mundo Jr.
     Douglas Wayne Bryant
     Robert T. Hansel
     Steven Lloyd Hutchinson
     Larry Dale Cottingham
     Peter Alan Grignon
     Roger Dale Lynch
     Elmer Kiser
     David George Whitson
     Jonathan Kyle Leonard
     Ronnie K. Jones
     Garry Randy Lacy
     Randy Wells
     Anthony Sean Pursifull
     Joe E. Howard Sr.

  Mr. McCONNELL. So today the U.S. Senate remembers J.J. Chestnut and 
John Gibson. We are grateful for their heroic sacrifice. And we say a 
prayer for their families, who we embrace as we would our own.

                          ____________________