Alan Lowenthal: “I thank Congresswoman Gabbard for giving us this opportunity to say a few words about somebody whom we cared about and…”

“I thank Congresswoman Gabbard for giving us this opportunity to say a few words about somebody whom we cared about and respected so much and who brought so much joy and positivity to this Congress. To his family--to Sami, to Matthew, and to Kaila, thank you for sharing him with us. It meant a lot to us. The Hawaiian word ``pono'' means righteousness. It is the idea that moral character leads to happiness. It means doing what is morally right and selfless. It is the word that so captures my feelings about Mark Takai, and that is what we see here in this picture. Too often our society takes the notion of public service for granted. Mark was the embodiment of the idea of public service, an idea that he was so proud to take part in--first, in the military and, at the same time, also continuing on in government. As I mentioned before in this House, Mark was a force of positivity. He was a leader who did not lead by force of will, but he led by being humble. He listened, he was effective at what he did, and he always brought us great warmth. He was the embodiment of bravery first in his service to his Nation-- our Nation--and then in his battle against cancer. His passing is a great loss to his family, to Hawaii, for this Chamber, and our Nation. Mr. Speaker, we have truly lost one of the good guys.”