Johnny Isakson: “my thanks to the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh), the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher), the gentleman…”

“my thanks to the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh), the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher), the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), the chairman of committee, and on behalf of really all of us in the Congress of the United States, today to pay tribute to the 19 airmen who 5 years ago today sacrificed their lives in behalf of the people of the United States of America. Madam Speaker, I thought when I was drafting this resolution, it is kind of ironic that if you think about today, just a month ago we celebrated Memorial Day, where we honored the men and women who have died in the pursuit, and subsequently the defense, of freedom in wars, domestic and foreign, since the founding of our country. Five months from now we will celebrate Veterans' Day, where we pay tribute to every man and every woman who has ever worn a uniform on behalf of this great Nation. In 11 days, on the 4th of July, we celebrate the founding of America; we celebrate our birthday. We celebrate our Declaration of Independence, upon which our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Today, we honor 19 airmen who gave their lives, the supreme sacrifice, at the hands of terrorists 20 miles away from Dhahran in Saudi Arabia.”