[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 369-370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, today I had the honor and privilege of 
visiting the wounded warriors at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Each one of 
the young men I saw, the oldest being 23, is very special, as are all 
of our men and women in uniform.
  The medical staff at both Bethesda and Walter Reed is truly amazing. 
They have done a wonderful job repairing the broken bodies and spirits 
of our young servicemembers.
  The number of wounded warriors returning from war has become more 
prevalent with the increased use of IEDs by the enemy. More and more of 
our young men and women are returning without their arms and legs. 
Tonight, Mr. Speaker, as a constant reminder of the pain of war, I show 
you this picture of a young triple amputee and his wife. This man gave 
his body for this country and will struggle for the rest of his life. 
How many more will have to return home in this condition?
  This young man and his wife have just returned from the hospital. He 
is in a wheelchair. He lost an arm and two legs and he is looking at a 
beautiful American flag that was on the wall that had been drawn for 
him.
  It is time we declare victory and get our troops out of Afghanistan. 
It is evident that President Karzai does not appreciate our commitment. 
If he did, he would not be so corrupt. If he did, he would not have 
made the comments that he now has three main enemies--the Taliban, the 
United States and the international community as stated in the 
Washington Post on December 13. He said that if he had to choose sides 
today, he would choose the Taliban. The Taliban are killing American 
service men and women.
  Mr. Speaker, I have joined Dennis Kucinich as well as many other 
members of both parties in the hope that President Obama will keep his 
promise to start withdrawing our troops in July of this year.

                              {time}  1920

  In closing, I would like to urge the American people to get engaged 
in this cause and to let their Members of Congress know how they feel. 
They must encourage the Members of Congress to vote to bring our troops 
home. The pain must end, and we can easily declare a victory and bring 
our brave men and women home.
  Mr. Speaker, as I do all the time on the floor of the House when I 
speak, I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, to bless 
the families of our men and women in uniform. I ask God in his loving 
arms to hold the families who have given a child dying for freedom in 
Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask God to please bless the House and Senate 
that we will do what is right for the American people. I ask God to 
give strength, wisdom, and courage to President Obama that he will do 
what is right for the American people. And

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three times I will ask God please, God please, God please continue to 
bless America.

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