Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2005

Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday, June 21, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton), our distinguished subcommittee chairman of our great Committee on Armed Services, introduced H.R. 256 in remembrance of the brave servicemen who perished in the disastrous April 24, 1980 rescue attempt of the American hostages in Iran. That was called Operation Eagle Claw.

I appreciate the gentleman for bringing this legislation to the Floor, mainly because it is such an important resolution, but also, Mr. Speaker, because it prompted me to call an old friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to the selfless service of that old friend from my childhood and a true American hero, Air Force Staff Sergeant Joseph J.J. Beyers.

I was reminded of my friend JJ because he was part of that rescue attempt, and he was one of the fortunate few who lived to tell about it. I had pretty much lost track of JJ after high school, although I knew, Mr. Speaker, that he was part of that rescue operation and I knew that he had been injured severely, burned severely, in critical condition for months, but that, thank God, he survived, and he recovered. But we had really lost track of each other for these many years until last week, after Mr. Saxton introduced his resolution. I had an opportunity to track JJ down and to give him a call and to spend about 45 minutes talking to him about that operation and his life and what it meant to him and what it has meant to this country.

I want to share, Mr. Speaker, a little bit of JJ's life, our life as kids together growing up in North Augusta, South Carolina. We were both altar boys at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. JJ and I went to school together from the first grade.

Back in those days, Mr. Speaker, there was no pre-K or kindergarten. Everybody just showed up when they were 6 years old in the first grade. That is how long I have known that great American hero.

And a little bit later on, Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, JJ Beyers and myself actually played in the same pony league baseball organization. He was a great athlete. He was a wonderful baseball player, an all-star in that pony league. We had some great athletes, and I would be remiss if I did not mention one who, like JJ Beyers, is another American hero, our age, our contemporary who gave his life for our country in another conflict, Vietnam.

But JJ Beyers and I went on to high school together to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Augusta, Georgia where again we were both playing baseball and football. But after that, I went off to college. I went to Georgia Tech to college; and JJ joined the Air Force and was in the process of spending his entire adult life in the Air Force. He was a C-130 radio operator and had been assigned to Eglin Air Force Base in 1980, when Operation Eagle Claw was planned.

JJ volunteered for that duty, Mr. Speaker, to take the place of someone who had to drop out because of a sick parent. And JJ Beyers at that time was a single parent who had custody of his five children. And yet he stepped up to the plate and volunteered to fill in the gap to go on this dangerous mission, telling his commander at Eglin that his neighbors would take care of his children; that he wanted to go and do what was necessary to rescue these hostages in Iran. That is the kind of guy JJ Beyers is, and this opportunity tonight to share that with my colleagues, I think, is of tremendous importance.

Mr. Speaker, JJ, as I say, lived through that infamous collision between a Navy helicopter and that C-130 cargo plane. But he was trapped in that fuselage by raging flames after the crash and pulled to safety by two Delta Force pilots. And JJ has severe burns today and little use of both hands. He has been totally disabled. But here is what he says: ``There is no doubt in my mind everybody involved would have gone again.''

JJ is remarried now. He lives in Niceville, Florida. I just want to say one thing, Mr. Speaker, in conclusion. Something that happened in high school, I was a snapper for punts. I rolled that snap back to JJ Beyers in the biggest game of the year, the punt was blocked. The coach chewed my good friend JJ Beyers out. He never said a word. He took it like a man. I did not own up to the fact that it was my fault. JJ was a true hero then. He was a true hero in 1980, he is a true hero as we speak today, and I want to take this chance to thank him for his friendship and sacrifice.