Recognizing the 235th birthday of the United States Army.

I thank my friend from Hawaii for yielding, and I thank him for the opportunity to speak on behalf of this important honor we are bestowing upon the Army by congratulating them on their 235th birthday.

The first time that I ever realized I was going to be given the honor to represent the United States Army was when they had a redistricting in Texas and I realized that my new district was going to have Fort Hood in it. To be quite honest, it was an overpowering challenge to be called upon to represent over 50,000 American soldiers and all those who work with those soldiers. I was a little bit taken aback, quite frankly. Mr. Edwards, as he pointed out, who has been so helpful to me in the transition of Fort Hood, Mr. Edwards had represented them for many years and had done an outstanding job, and I was going to be the new kid on the block going to Fort Hood. And so I went to my office and I said, the districts are changing, we've got to go visit soldiers, we've got to be with soldiers.

I got the opportunity through the Speaker's Office before I had hardly spent any time at all in Fort Hood to go to Korea to visit soldiers who were stationed in Korea, many of whom were part of the soldiers contingency that would return to Fort Hood. I grew up as a small child with what was earlier today commemorated as the Korean War. To me it was just a map of the peninsula of Korea that I watched lines move up and down, but I know from people who came back what a terrible fight that was. And I know that that is still, to this day, to this very moment we stand in history, a dangerous place on the Earth.

When we got there, we were given the opportunity, my wife and I, to go up on the demilitarized zone, the DMZ, where ultimately, as a result of the cease fire that took place in Korea, they have set up--both sides, you're kind of across a line looking at each other. In fact, as recently as 4 or 5 years ago, there have been fatalities on that line. There is the opportunity for another war to break out, theoretically, any minute of any day, 24 hours a day and has been since the end of the Korean War back in the fifties. So it was kind of a challenge just to go up there.

Then when I got there, there were all these young-faced American soldiers. My oldest son is a football coach and a baseball coach, and as I looked at these young men and women that I was being introduced to; they looked just like the kids that were at the graduation ceremony just a few months earlier that my son coached and taught.

When it came time for lunch, they gave me an opportunity to sit down at this table with this bunch of young men and women. I tell you this because it was kind of unusual, my first time to ever sit down with just ordinary soldiers and talk to them. And you don't really know what they're going to say; you're kind of curious. Well, the first thing I found out was there was one kid there from Killeen Ellison; he played football for my son when my son coached at Killeen Ellison. There was another kid there that played baseball for my son when he coached at Round Rock High School. So I realized that these were just like those kids that had just graduated.

I went around the table, and this was all a bunch of 18- and 19-year- old soldiers. They came from small-town and big-town America. They could have been your friend, your neighbor, your cousin, could have been your brother or your sister. And there they were, standing up there, potentially in harm's way on our behalf, where it's cold and windy and kind of scary.

So that was my first contact. And I asked the question, kind of naively, Okay, so when are you guys going to be through over here in Korea? Most of them were going to be out within the next 8 months. And I said, Where do you want to go when you get out, expecting all kinds of exotic places. No, sir, we want to go to either Afghanistan or Iraq. My wife and I both were a little taken aback by that. And so my wife asked the question, Why would you want to go there? And they gave an answer that is one of the definitions I think of the United States Army, they said, Sir, we're warfighters; that's where the war is. That's what we do for a living. We are the Army.

Now, you hear that from a 19-year-old kid that probably a year and a half ago had been playing on some practice field someplace in central Texas and you say to yourself, what magic is it that we get people like this to come out and do this job and do it willingly and with such patriotism and such fervor for doing the job they're trained for?

Just recently, less than a few weeks ago--and I shared this at the birthday party for the Army last night--my wife and I got a very nice honor of being part of a small delegation of Members of Congress who were invited to go to the Memorial Day ceremony at Normandy Beach where our soldiers came ashore and accomplished the impossible. In fact, we stood on Pointe du Hoc, as Mr. Edwards was describing to you, and we looked at those cliffs and we looked at the repair being done to preserve that national treasure of our heroic effort.

We got to see that beach both at high and low tide, and we got to see the distance those soldiers had to run under heavy, heavy, heavy automatic weapon fire and artillery fire just to get to that bluff that they had to climb to get to the fight. You looked at it and you said, I don't think I could have done it. That is what I thought: I don't think I could have done it. And then you realize that that's the same kids, like the same kids I talked to in Korea. They were young people who were members of the United States Army; they had a job to do and they did it.

They told us a story about a soldier who landed there, fought his way across the beach to the bluff, fought his way up the bluff to get off of that deadly beach only to be wounded in the face--took off the right side of his face with a machine gun bullet. They wrapped him up on the top of the bluff and said you need to go back down on the beach for an aid station. And his comment was, I just fought my way off of that beach. And they said, no, you've got to be evacuated. Going back down to be evacuated he was shot four more times, the last of which took off the left side of his face. And his comment that he made when he came back to Normandy as a 90-year-old man--and they said he looked fine, he said they did a fine job on me and I looked good. I have children, I have grandchildren and I have great grandchildren, and I

did what I did for them. And I can say that I always wondered if I really ought to come to this beach because I was only here for 9 hours. True, I did get five Purple Hearts while I was here, but I wondered if I was worthy to come back and say I landed here, because I had to be evacuated.

That special something that makes up the United States Army can't be described to us in detail. But when you walk among those 10,000 crosses and stars of David in that cemetery and you realize that those heroes laying beneath that ground are exactly like those heroes who stand on the wall in the defense of liberty in Iraq and Afghanistan today, our soldiers today are exactly like those of the Greatest Generation: they sacrifice everything.

I'm proud to represent the 31st Congressional District, which is the home of Fort Hood. Every soldier at Fort Hood has been deployed multiple times, and they never complain; they just do the job. We Americans, wherever we are, in this House that we are so blessed to be able to serve or around the world, should stop every day, when we have the opportunity, and say thank you to the United States Army for the quality of human beings they have produced to defend our Nation and for the patriotic spirit that is part of what makes up the psyche of America.

Nothing is more precious to us than the United States Army. Nothing is more honorable to me than being given the opportunity to represent over 50,000 American soldiers. And so this day I am very happy to say to our United States Army, happy birthday, U.S. Army. We are proud of you. God bless you and keep you safe.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 286) recognizing the 235th birthday of the United States Army.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 286, and it is my honor to stand here today and recognize the Army for its 235th birthday.

Since 1775, the United States Army has stood prepared to fight and win our Nation's wars and has provided us with some of the greatest moments in our history.

You know, as a poor child growing up in south Texas, I never knew what existed outside my neighborhood. However, when I joined the Army and left south Texas, the world soon opened to me. When I arrived in Paris, France, as a military policeman fresh out of basic training and advanced military training, I knew that my life had changed forever.

Shortly after arriving in Paris, a friend of mine from West Virginia, who had just finished basic and military police school training, we headed down to see the Eiffel Tower. While walking around the city, a limousine pulled over to our side of the road and a young woman stepped out of the biggest car I had ever seen in my life and approached my friend and me. She wanted to take a picture with us, two young soldiers fresh out of basic training. But it was not until about 6 months later that we discovered that this woman was one of the most popular movie stars in France.

But all she wanted was to have a picture with two young soldiers wearing the American uniform.

While in France, I became interested in learning more about police duties and investigations. The Army saw that maybe I could learn some of the stuff that they were teaching, and I was reassigned to the Army Criminal Investigation Division. I took the lessons and skills I learned back to South Texas where I became constable later after my return from the military, and later I became sheriff in Wasis County, which is my county.

The Army experience shaped my life like nothing else has ever done. It sent me on the pathway to become a better human being, a better elected official, a better constable, a better county commissioner, a better sheriff, and a better Congressman. The training was hard and work was even harder, but the lessons were never lost.

Just as was true in the early 1960s, when a French movie star stopped to take a picture with a poor boy from South Texas, our soldiers are respected and admired around the world for their professionalism and dedication to each other.

I am proud of my service and my Army experience. I am also proud of today's soldiers as they continue to fight and win our Nation's wars as they have done for the last 235 years. From the private in Washington's Continental Army facing a mighty adversary to the sergeant leading a patrol through the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, the strength of our Nation is our Army, and I am proud to be part of that legacy. I am proud to wish the Army happy birthday.

But you know, time has really changed. When I served back then in the 1960s, I went to the draft board, and I volunteered to the draft because my father had passed away, and I had four siblings, two brothers and two sister. Jobs were scarce, and I volunteered to go and serve the Army.

Today is a different story. Today, we have all-volunteer services. You can join the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, the National Guard, the Reserves. They serve and they volunteer because they love our country, and this is why we're so proud of the young men and women who sacrifice so that you and I can enjoy the freedoms that we have in this country. And the day when we fail to recognize the sacrifices of these young men and women who serve, this is when the fibers of this country start to begin to deteriorate.

I am so proud to say that I served in the Army, and I wish everybody who is either serving now or have served in the past a happy birthday.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield such time as my good friend from Texas (Mr. Edwards) may consume, my friend and colleague and member of the Appropriations Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend and colleague from New York (Mr. Hall), a member of the Energy and Global Warming Subcommittee. And as always, he does a great job.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Foreign Affairs Committee, my good friend and colleague from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), my good friend with whom I have had the privilege of working for many years.

Madam Speaker, at the same time we are honoring these soldiers, we cannot forget their families, because they have sacrificed as well.

I have known 29 soldiers who have been killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. At one of these funerals that I attended, I met a young soldier who was escorting a body to my district, and he gave me this poem that I will always carry with me and that I will never forget. These are the people whose birthday we are celebrating today.

It is entitled, ``Soldier.''

``I was that which others did not want to be.

``I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do.

``I asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness should I fail.

``I have seen the face of terror, felt the stinging cold of fear, and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment's love.

``I have cried, pained, and hoped; but most of all, I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.

``At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was, a soldier.''

This is their birthday, the United States Army.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

I want to thank Chairman Ortiz for the time today and, most importantly, not only for his service in the U.S. Army as a soldier but for his leadership as a key subcommittee chairman on the House Armed Services Committee. The gentleman from Texas works every day to support our soldiers, not just with his words but with his deeds, and I'm deeply grateful for that.

Madam Speaker, this resolution honors the 235th anniversary of the United States Army, and I rise today on behalf of a grateful Nation to say thank you to every Army soldier, past and present, for their service to our Nation. We express our gratitude with the humility of knowing that we could never fully repay the debt of gratitude we owe our soldiers and their families for the sacrifices they have made to protect our Nation.

When I drive past Arlington Cemetery each morning on my way to the U.S. Capitol, I'm always reminded of that sacrifice, sacrifice of those who, in the words of Lincoln, gave their last full measure of devotion to country.

When I met with several young amputees and double amputees earlier this week at a charity event for wounded warriors, I was reminded that the personal sacrifices of war do not end with the signing of a ceasefire agreement. When I visit the Waco VA hospital in my district, I'm reminded that the mental wounds of war can sometimes be as serious and as long-lasting as the physical wounds of combat.

One of the greatest privileges of my life was to represent for 14 years Fort Hood, Texas, which is now so ably represented by my colleague and friend, Congressman Carter. Fort Hood is the Army's largest installation, and I had the privilege of representing it through three combat deployments.

When I think about our Army soldiers and their sacrifices, I cannot help but think about the young soldier, probably no older than 20 years old, I met in December of 1995. My wife was just three days away from giving birth to our first son J.T., and as an expectant first-time father, I could not help but be excited as I talked to this young soldier sitting next to his young, pregnant wife, talking about how excited I was to become a father.

This soldier, who was about to deploy for Bosnia, said without an air of complaint in his voice: Sir, I missed the birth of my first son because I was serving in Iraq, and I will miss the birth of my second child because I will be serving in Bosnia. He said, Sir, I'm proud to serve my country.

Madam Speaker, one cannot put a price on the sacrifice of a young father missing the birth of his two children. There are no makeup days for missed births, birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations. That is why we are so deeply grateful to our soldiers and their families.

To the spouses, children, parents, and loved ones of our Army soldiers, I say, you are the unsung heroes of our Nation's defense. Whether you have worn our Nation's uniform or not, you have truly served our country. For those family members who have lost loved ones in combat, we know you continue to sacrifice each and every day of your life.

Were it not for the U.S. Army and the magnificent men and women who have served in it and are serving in it today, the world would be a much different place, a less stable, a less free place.

Just a few weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting Len Lomell. Most Americans have not heard the name of Len Lomell. He lives in Toms River, New Jersey, with his wife. My wife and I took our two young sons, J.T. and Garrison, to meet with Mr. Lomell because in my book, he is a true American hero. As an Army soldier on D-day in 1944, Len Lomell joined with Earl Rudder and the Second Battalion Army Rangers and climbed up that difficult, life-threatening cliff in the face of German gunfire and grenades to try to knock out the five massive German guns that could have put at risk the entire Allied invasion of D-day.

Len Lomell, along with one other soldier, went out scouring for the guns because they had been moved, unknown

to Army intelligence, been moved away from that cliff that we know as Pointe du Hoc. It was Len Lomell who found those guns, and while nearly 100 Germans were standing just a few yards away, took thermite grenades and put those grenades in two different trips back to those guns, put thermite grenades in those gear mechanisms of those guns and, in doing so, decommissioned all of them.

The great historian Steven Ambrose said that, next to Eisenhower, Len Lomell had more to do with the victory of D-day than any living person in this world.

I have to wonder would the world be different today had it not been for that great Army soldier Len Lomell and all the soldiers who served with him and all the soldiers who served before him and those great ones who have served after him.

Madam Speaker, we can never repay our soldiers such as Len Lomell, or the young soldier I met at Fort Hood, or Robert L. Howard, who died in my hometown of Waco this past December and was buried just 4 months ago in Arlington Cemetery after earning the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and eight Purple Hearts in his five tours of duty in Vietnam.

We cannot repay the 82,000 U.S. Army soldiers serving in Iraq today or the 57,000 soldiers serving in Afghanistan, but let us always honor them, not just with our words and resolutions such as this one today, but with our deeds and our budgets every day.

Our Nation has a moral obligation to provide quality housing and health care for our troops and their families and first-class education for their children. Our Nation has a moral obligation to stand up for America's veterans because they have stood up for us.

A grateful Nation wishes our Army a happy 235th birthday. May God bless all our soldiers--past, present and future--for risking their lives to protect our divine gift of freedom.

I do want to thank my good friend and colleague from Texas as well as our friend from the State of Hawaii for managing this important resolution.

Madam Speaker, it is ironic that we just got through considering a resolution which commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. Four of our colleagues were veterans of that terrible conflict: Congressman Rangel, Congressman Sam Johnson of Texas, Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, and Congressman Howard Coble of North Carolina. The Korean War took 30,000 of our soldiers' lives. Let us not forget their sacrifice as we honor the celebration of the 235th birthday of the U.S. Army.

It was my honor to have served as a member of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict, Madam Speaker. I recall the time of the Revolutionary War and of George Washington, with some 12,000 soldiers who were not very well trained. They had to go up against some 30,000 British Redcoats, which was the most powerful military organization at that time, but we had to fight it. We won the war, giving credit to General George Washington and to those who were able to assist him.

Madam Speaker, as a matter of history of the U.S. Army, during World War II, some 100,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in concentration camps. Despite all the discrimination, all the hatred, and all the racism that was heaped upon the Japanese Americans, they volunteered and organized the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry brigade, which was sent to Europe. These two military organizations became among the most decorated ever in the history of the U.S. Army.

As I recall distinctly of the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, some 18,000 individual decorations were given to the men who served, these Japanese Americans. Some 9,000 Purple Hearts were awarded, some 560 Silver Stars and 52 Distinguished Service Crosses--and ironically, only one Medal of Honor. Well, we corrected that. As a result of again reviewing the value and the courage of these Japanese American soldiers who fought during that time, 19 additional Medals of Honor were awarded because of what they had done during the war. I just wanted to note that as a matter of history.

I want to commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards) for his authorship of this resolution. I sincerely thank my good friend, Congressman Ortiz, for allowing me to say a few words in celebrating the 235th birthday of the U.S. Army.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 286, celebrating the 235th birthday of the United States Army.

First, I would like to thank Chairman Skelton and Ranking Member McKeon of the Committee on Armed Services for bringing the resolution to the floor today. I also want to commend my good friend, Congressman Chet Edwards of Texas, for introducing this resolution as well as all of the other cosponsors for their rapid and strong support.

The freedoms that this great country was built on were not formed out of peace and diplomacy, but out of necessity for war. The United States Army has ensured the safety and continuance of the freedoms won since the Revolutionary War that declared our independence from Great Britain. In 1775, the Continental Army was formed representing the thirteen American colonies consisting of a few thousand soldiers. Today, according to the Department of Defense, there are over 2 million personnel serving in our Armed Forces while 675,000 are either active duty or reserve in the U.S. Army.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely give my thanks to all the men and women who have served and are serving in the U.S. Army. As a Vietnam veteran, I appreciate the dedication and service of all those who have volunteered. The United States military is an essential component of our country's success and we owe them a debt of gratitude. Given that the average age of a soldier in the U.S. Army today is 22 years old, I would like to recognize the young men and women of this country for devoting themselves to maintaining the freedoms and rights enumerated by our founding fathers since 1776.

The United States Army personnel, as well as all branches of the military, deserve not only our respect, but our recognition. Our United States military today is the strongest and fiercest volunteer force dedicated to protecting and defending our great nation. For this reason I would like to recognize all U.S. military personnel serving in our homeland and throughout the world.

For their service, valor and commitment, we must honor the United States Army. I urge my colleagues to pass H. Con. Res. 286.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 286, which was introduced by my friends from Texas, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Carter. This resolution recognizes the 235th birthday of the United States Army and honors the valor, commitment, and sacrifice that members of the United States Army, their families, and Army civilians have displayed throughout the history of the United States Army.

I personally also want to note what the recognition of the Army birthday means to myself and my district. Three things I want to point out to the floor: First off, of course, it is my honor to represent Hawaii's First Congressional District, which is home to the 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army. It is also home of U.S. Army Pacific, Tripler Army Medical Center, Fort Shafter and of course my Army Reserve unit. All of which I take great pride in representing here in the Congress.

Second, I think it speaks to the strength and vitality and greatness of our Nation and our Nation's Army that I, for myself, a child of immigrants from Thailand and China, had the privilege of calling myself an officer in the United States Army Reserve. It is a true testimony of the greatness of our Nation and the greatness of our Armed Forces that the child of immigrants would be allowed to serve as an officer in the most powerful fighting force the world has ever known.

Third and finally, of course, I am enormously humbled to call myself a Member of the House of Representatives, and I think it is also testimony of the greatness of our military, Armed Forces, and for the United States Army that I had the privilege earlier today of sitting in a hearing with General Petraeus discussing current actions and operations going on in Afghanistan.

I think one of the beauties of our Army today is the fact that our Army is professional; it is well-trained; and it also is under civilian control; and that even four-star generals have to answer to the elected officials of our Nation's people.

As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and as a captain in the Reserve, I'm proud to speak in very strong support of this resolution.

On June 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, a weary group of Continental Congressmen worked by candlelight to lay out the provisions to form an Army. The result was a simple paragraph order for the colonial States to provide men and arms to continue an uphill fight against England. That simple paragraph order or resolution authorized the formation of 10 rifle companies, and thus began the formation and the beginnings of our United States Army.

Today, 235 years later, we continue to honor the commitment and duty of the Army soldiers who have risked their lives to preserve our freedom. They have left a lasting mark on this Nation. During the Army's 235-year history, tens of thousands of these brave young men and women have selflessly served on distant battlefields to keep our Nation safe.

I am particularly proud of the residents of Hawaii who have served and continue to serve in the Army on behalf of our Nation, as well as the many Reservists and Guardsmen, many of whom are my personal friends with whom I have served with honor and distinction. I salute them for their service to our great Nation.

Today, as our Nation continues to fight the global war on terror, the Army has been key to providing the military capabilities it needs to persist in the struggle for liberty and democracy. Through the efforts of the U.S. Army, the world has been made a more secure, prosperous, and better place for all of mankind. The courage and dedication of those soldiers and their families are an inspiration to us all, and may the rest of us endeavor to be ``Army Strong'' in our own lives.

I am honored to speak in favor of this resolution and urge my colleagues to join me in support of H. Con. Res. 286 and recognize the 235th birthday of the United States Army.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Carter).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.