Joe Biden: “today, I would like to offer a tribute to one of the outstanding citizens of my State, one of those citizens who truly…”

“today, I would like to offer a tribute to one of the outstanding citizens of my State, one of those citizens who truly represents the best not only of Delaware but of America--the best of our heritage and our hope, the best of our national spirit of community. It will surprise no one to learn that the citizen I'm describing is a volunteer firefighter. Wayne A. Steen, Sr., joined the Mill Creek Fire Co. on October 2, 1967, as a member of its youth division, Explorer Post 921. In the course of his 4 years of membership, Wayne served as both president and chief of the post. On September 22, 1971, just a few days passed his 18th birthday, Wayne Steen became a full member of the Mill Creek Fire Co. For 20-plus years after, he served the company in virtually every office and on virtually every committee, putting in more than a thousand hours and responding to about 600 fire and ambulance runs--those are not career totals; that's 1,000 hours and 600 runs per year--and earning three citations for heroism and leadership.”