Political Quotes

“It is said that Pope John Paul II was probably the most widely recognized person in the entire world. We have heard many inspiring tributes to this great man, and rightly so. I would like to take a few minutes to pay tribute to two other great men who died recently. Unlike the Pope, their names and their faces were not instantly recognizable. But they shared some of his finest qualities. They were remarkably brave men who risked much to protect transcendent truths, and who continued to defend those truths even in the twilight of their lives. In their cases, the truths were the principles that are the essence of America. Both of these men first made their marks on American history during World War II. Ernest Childers was a Native American, a member of the Creek Nation from Oklahoma, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was a lieutenant in the Army National Guard when he arrived on the beaches of Salerno, Italy, in September 1943. Hearing that many in his division were pinned down by enemy fire in nearby hills, he organized a group of eight soldiers to help clear a path to rescue the endangered soldiers. An exploding enemy shell threw Lt. Childers to the ground, breaking his ankle, but he continued to advance. Ordering his soldiers to lay down a base of fire to protect him, he crawled--with his shattered ankle--toward an enemy sniper's nest.…”