[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 22]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29397]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           NADINE GULIT AND ``OPERATION SUPPORT OUR TROOPS''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID G. REICHERT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 3, 2009

  Mr. REICHERT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of the co-founder 
of an organization that provided comfort and support for thousands upon 
thousands of our brave service men and women.
  For nearly eight years, Nadine Gulit has freely given nearly all her 
time to support and run ``Operation Support our Troops.'' Whenever I 
hold Veterans Fair's in my district, the 8th of Washington, or attend 
veterans or service member rallies, Nadine is always present. Providing 
aid and comfort to our brave soldiers was the work of her heart and 
soul and she poured 100 percent of both into ``Operation Support Our 
Troops.''
  As the story goes, Operation Support Our Troops started after 
Nadine's daughter Sheryl Sheaffer received a message from her son Scott 
serving in Iraq. At that point, Nadine and Sheryl were active in a 
grassroots organization called ``Operation Home Front,'' a support our 
troops grassroots effort. But after receiving Scott's call, Sheryl and 
Nadine took supporting our troops to a new level.
  ``Operation Support Our Troops'' has held many, many rallies in 
support of service members around Western Washington and is in regular 
contact with thousands of military supporters around the State. 
``Operation Support Our Troops'' has sent care packages to tens of 
thousands of our soldiers at a time and has touched the lives of many 
more.
  Nadine's family has a long history of service to this country and a 
deep respect for the work our soldiers do at home and abroad. Nadine 
and her group have been honored and recognized for their tireless 
efforts before, and I felt strongly I needed to add my name to the 
list. Their contributions will be missed but they have provided a 
blueprint for patriotic Americans to follow.
  On November 5, Specialist Aaron Aamot--a 22-year-old soldier from 
Custer, Washington--was killed in Afghanistan by an IED. His father 
Mark, reflecting on his son's death and the outpouring of support from 
his community and country, quoted 19th century French historian Alexis 
de Tocqueville: ``America is great because she is good, and if America 
ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.'' Madam Speaker, 
Nadine is the kind of American de Tocqueville was talking about. She is 
good and people like her continue to make America great.

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