Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 381) to designate a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest as ``Sky Point''. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous…
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 381) to designate a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest as ``Sky Point''.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill would name a peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains after Marine Staff Sergeant Sky Mote as a small token of the gratitude of our Nation, and as a permanent reminder that, as Shakespeare put it: ``This story should the good man teach his son.''
On August 12, 2012, Sergeant Mote was at his post in the tactical operations center of the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion in Helmand province. On that day, a so-called Afghan police officer opened fire on the Marines who had come there to help that country.
When the attack broke out, Sergeant Mote was in an adjoining room. He could have easily escaped to safety. According to the Navy citation: ``He instead grabbed his M4 rifle and entered the operations room, courageously exposing himself to a hail of gunfire in order to protect his fellow Marines. In his final act of bravery, he boldly engaged the gunman, now less than 5 meters in front of him, until falling mortally wounded.''
According to the citation, it was Mote's actions that stopped the attack, and it was his heroism for which he received the Navy's second highest decoration: the Navy Cross.
The irony is that Sky Mote was indifferent to the medals he was awarded during his life: the Navy and Marine
Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, and three Good Conduct Medals that he earned during his 9 years of exemplary service to his Nation.
His father, Russell, recalled that ``He never cared about medals. He never showed them to us.'' He said: ``Once, I found one in his laundry.'' But his father also said that although his son was indifferent to medals, he was intentionally and intensely proud of his EOD badge, designating his service as an explosive ordnance disposal technician.
To the EOD technicians, bombs are not something to be avoided but something to be sought out and disarmed. On one such day, Mote diffused two IEDs, crawled through a heavily seeded minefield to save the life of his team member who had been severely wounded by a third, and then directed the evacuation of his unit. On that day, Sergeant Mote had earned a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a V for valor.
We come today to the Hall of the House of Representatives to try to honor a hero who didn't care much about medals.
We do so not for him. Lincoln was right long ago that it is far beyond our poor powers to add or detract from the honor of his deeds and the example of his life.
I think we do so in part to acknowledge an irredeemable debt that our country owes to an eternally grieving family. We need to remember there are Gold Star families among us who spend their Memorial Days not at barbecues and beach parties but in solemn ceremonies and quiet vigils around honored graves. We honor their loved ones in hopes that in some small way we can fortify them against the loss that they bear every day of their lives.
But, mainly, I think we do it for ourselves, that we might draw inspiration from his courage and instruction from his willingness to sacrifice all to protect the vision of liberty enshrined in the founding of our Nation.
In consultation with his family, we have identified a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest overlooking where Sky Mote and his family often camped and hiked. This bill proposes that it forever more be known as Sky Point as a token of our Nation's respect of his heroism, its appreciation of his sacrifice, its sympathy for his family, and of its solemn pledge that succeeding generations of his countrymen will never forget him.
This legislation first passed the House by voice vote in the 114th Congress, and I urge the passage of this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his kind and good words and urge adoption of the bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
