[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18046-18047]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VISIT TO THE CAPITOL

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise this morning to talk about a 
wonderful opportunity we had on October 20 in the Senate to host 
heroes, five young West Point graduates, who are currently recuperating 
at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They came for a tour of the Capitol 
and for a lesson in history, and I want to thank the Senate Historian 
who came to the floor.
  They had the opportunity to be in the Chamber and to see where the 
laws are created, which they, through their service and sacrifice, give 
us the chance to improve and defend and preserve the Constitution and 
make the laws of this country.
  We were able, more importantly, to thank them, to thank them for 
their service to the Nation, and I am particularly pleased and proud 
because they carry on a tradition of selfless service to the Nation 
exemplified in the best moments of the graduates of the U.S. Military 
Academy. Each one was wounded while leading his troops out front, 
exposed to the dangers and hardships of warfare.

[[Page 18047]]

  We had previously hosted a group of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne 
Division--again, I have a very proud association as a former company 
commander in that division. We hope periodically to host other wounded 
warriors from Walter Reed.
  But among our guests was CPT Dan Berschinski. Dan is a graduate from 
the class of 2007 from the Military Academy. He hails from Peachtree 
City, GA. He served with the 5/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team. He was 
injured in Afghanistan. They were operating around the Arghandab River 
Valley near Kandahar. He was on patrol, dismounted, when he was hit by 
an IED and suffered the loss of both of his legs but not the diminution 
of his spirit or his commitment of service to the Nation.
  We were also joined by 1LT Chris Nichols, from the class of 2008. 
Chris is from Myersville, MD. He served with the 1st Heavy Brigade 
Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division. He was injured in Iraq, 
northeast of Baghdad, by an explosively formed penetrator IED, a very 
sophisticated weapons system. It injured both of his legs. He was 
joined by his friend, Stacey Aleksejus. We were pleased that Chris and 
Stacey were here. Chris is, hopefully, going to return to Active Duty.
  We were also joined by 1LT Rahul Harpalani from the class of 2008. 
Rahul is from Carbondale, IL. He served with the 4th Brigade Combat 
Team of the 4th Infantry Division. He was wounded in Konar Province in 
Afghanistan. An IED exploded against the vehicle he was driving. Both 
legs were injured. We hope, again, that he will be recuperating well.
  We were also joined by 1LT Josh Linvill, USMA class of 2008 from 
Wayne, PA. He served with the 3/2 Stryker Cavalry Regiment. He was 
wounded in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He stepped on a land mine, injuring 
his right leg.
  We were joined also by 1LT Zach Osborne, class of 2008, from Roanoke, 
VA. He served with the 5/2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, once again in 
the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan. An IED hit the vehicle he 
was riding in. Both of his legs were injured. We were pleased he was 
joined by his non-medical attendant, Daniel Key.
  These young men have served, but their families have served also, and 
we wish to thank them as well. They, too, have sacrificed. In fact, all 
of us have been up to Walter Reed and as we have gone through the 
corridors, we have seen mothers and fathers in the rooms with their 
sons, as well as wives and husbands and children and grandparents and 
uncles and aunts, because the sacrifice of these young men and women 
has been borne by their families as well as themselves.
  I also wish to thank COL Jim Wartski. Jim is from the class of 1982. 
He serves as a mobilized reservist at Walter Reed; he, as well as Mr. 
Fred Larson, the director of Care and Service Transformation. These two 
gentlemen escorted the wounded warriors. They also represent some of 
the improvements not just to the physical infrastructure of Walter Reed 
but to the management of Walter Reed, from the patient-centered care to 
the continued engagement and involvement of these young men and women, 
not only while they are in acute care, but also as they recuperate and 
rehabilitate, and that is an improvement that has been made and is so 
necessary.
  These young men--in this case, all young combat officers--men, but 
young men and women who are serving and sacrificing and sustaining the 
wounds and, in some cases, giving their lives to this Nation are the 
fabric of our defense. They are what has sustained us through not just 
this moment but throughout our history. They continue to inspire us 
with their service, and they continue to represent to the world the 
continued promise that wherever we are challenged, we will meet that 
challenge.
  We cannot repay them enough. We cannot thank them enough. But last 
month this Senate had the opportunity to say to five of these warriors: 
Thank you very much. Come here, see the Senate of the United States 
where great debates have taken place, where the rights and the 
responsibilities have been fashioned over more than 200 years. This is 
what you defend. But, more importantly, you give us the opportunity and 
the obligation to ensure that your sacrifice is not in vain; that we 
work here, as you do, as committed Americans to improve the lives of 
our fellow Americans, to defend their security, but also to provide 
opportunity, to do what is difficult and sometimes unpopular but what 
is necessary for the success of freedom and the success of the families 
of this country.
  At moments in this body, we have, a sense of frustration, a sense 
of--let me stop at frustration. At those moments when we are divided by 
political issues, by policy debates, I ask us all to think for a moment 
of these young men and women. I think that will help immensely in our 
response to the challenges we face as a Senate and as a nation.
  I also wish to say something else because this week in Rhode Island, 
we had to bury a warrior, SGT Michael Paranzino of the 10th Mountain 
Division. Michael left his wife and two small children, his parents, 
his family, his friends, and the whole community of Rhode Island. He 
was an extraordinary young man.
  The cost of this great experiment in democracy is high indeed. We 
have to recognize that cost, not just in speeches on the floor of the 
Senate but going forward: how we conduct ourselves as Senators; what we 
do to make this country stronger and better; what we do to make it more 
a place of opportunity for all of our citizens. Particularly, it is 
about what we will do not in the next 2 months or the next 10 months 
but in the next 20 years to ensure that the veterans we honor on this 
floor today will still be honored 20 years hence. We need to ensure 
that, not just with an annual parade and flag waving, but with the 
care, the support, the assistance to the VA and the Department of 
Defense as well as in their communities, not just these individuals but 
their families.
  I hope years from now, and I will pray, that others will stand up and 
say they paid the price and we have kept our promise to them.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor and I note the absence of 
a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of Colorado). In my capacity as a 
Senator from the State of Colorado, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________