[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26431]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THANKING THE AIRMEN OF BARKSDALE

  (Mr. FLEMING asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, my district in northwest 
Louisiana was hit with severe storms and tornadoes which left 
neighborhoods tattered, families without homes, and thousands 
threatened by levees that were threatening to break.
  On Friday night, Bossier Parish officials had exhausted all options 
to save this levee when many citizens and especially the airmen of 
Barksdale Air Force Base mobilized to protect this community. Colonel 
Steven Basham assembled 140 airmen; and through their efforts, the 
levees were saved that night.
  Over the days that followed, over 400 airmen worked around the clock 
to protect the levees, the homes and the families that surrounded it. 
Enlisteds, officers and even generals worked side by side in an effort 
to make sure that floodwaters did not destroy Bossier Parish.
  I want to extend my sincere gratitude for their dedication and work 
during this natural disaster; and I want to say that the efforts of 
these airmen prove, once again, why the United States military is the 
greatest assemblage of outstanding men and women in the world.

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