[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16738-16739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. I, too, rise to honor, celebrate, and 
remember our courageous men and women in uniform who've served in the 
United States Armed Forces.
  Next Friday, our Nation as a whole will observe Veterans Day, a day 
which should serve as a reminder to every American that our Armed 
Forces, both past and present, are made up of individuals of great 
courage, character, and honor.
  As a 29-year Air Force veteran and a former prisoner of war for 
nearly 7 years, I know firsthand that freedom is not free. We owe a 
debt of gratitude to all who have worn the uniform and their families.
  I urge all Americans to use this Veterans Day as an opportunity to 
personally thank a veteran. It's because of their sacrifices that we 
remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.
  I think an inscription on the wall at the POW camp when we left says 
it all: Freedom has a taste to those who fight and almost die that the 
protected will never know.

[[Page 16739]]

  I salute our veterans. God bless America.

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