Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2825, the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act, the Senate version of H.R. 1015, led by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer), the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. Rodgers), the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks), and the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann). Madam Speaker, we lost too many American soldiers during the Vietnam war. That number would be dramatically higher if it were not for the bravery shown by the pilots of the Dustoff crews. During the Vietnam war, American helicopter rescue crews, known as the Operation Dustoff crews, evacuated some 900,000 people to safety, the equivalent of the populations of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Orlando combined. They did so under extremely perilous conditions. The Dustoff missions left the crews unarmed, often flown completely at night, frequently under enemy fire, and even after having to fight for permission to fly because of the dangers. Madam Speaker, the United States needed the Dustoff crews during the Vietnam war because of the battle landscape. The stealthy, dispersed enemy occupying the dense jungles of Vietnam meant American soldiers had to push far from stationed medical support. Without a speedy exit from combat, a wound during the Vietnam war meant almost certain death. The brave men of the Dustoff crews rescued American soldiers, civilians, and Vietnamese soldiers.…”