Wayne Gilchrest: “I too would like to take a minute to address the House on the words of Sara Lister, the top personnel officer at the…”

“I too would like to take a minute to address the House on the words of Sara Lister, the top personnel officer at the Pentagon for the U.S. Army, in her remarks about naming Marines as "extremists." What I would like to say is that I am a former Marine. I enlisted when I was 18 years old because I wanted to see the world. The people that I met throughout the 4 years I served in the Marine Corps in the middle 1960's were anything but extremists. For the most part, they were gentle, young kids, who wanted to find adventure, wanted to serve their country, wanted to do something. They were curious about the world. As they went through their service in the Marine Corps, they raised money for toys for poor children. In combat, they put their life at risk delivering babies. They found lepers in the jungles, and they dealt with the strange disease. Mr. Speaker, the Marine Corps is made up of individuals who are like every average American.”