Bruce L. Braley: “I rise today in the week after Memorial Day to salute the brave men and women of the Iowa National Guard's 1st…”

“I rise today in the week after Memorial Day to salute the brave men and women of the Iowa National Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry. Their devotion to serving their country is worth recognizing, because these men and women put their lives on the line, day in and day out, in Iraq. On Memorial Day weekend, CBS's ``60 Minutes'' devoted an entire hour to telling the story of the 1-133rd, one of the first times since 2004 that they devoted an entire hour to one subject. Many Iowans watched intently that Sunday night as they saw the story of their friends, neighbors and loved ones. We saw a group of Iowans mature over 2 years from their deployment to their pending return back home. We speak a great deal in this body about our troops and the war in Iraq, and for good reason. But if I have learned anything from my interactions with the 1-133rd over the past several months, it is that the sacrifices we ask our troops to make when they are deployed in a hostile situation thousands of miles from home really are incalculable. The story of the 1-133rd should be required watching for all the Members of this body, who must weigh the decision to send our troops overseas. Again, I commend these brave men and women from Iowa.”