Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, colleague, and fellow marine, Greg Pence, for the honor to speak before this body tonight on such a--you don't call an occasion like this important, but I think we call it relevant. It is relevant because Marines, for a long time, since 1775, have fought to defend freedom, and we go to the fight to win, but we also go to the fight to help others. On Sunday, 23 October 1983, you have heard the story told already, how 220 marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers lost their lives when a terrorist's truck bomb exploded at a barracks compound in Beirut, Lebanon. The same day, 58 of our French brothers in arms lost their lives in an additional attack by Hezbollah. In what would be the deadliest day for the Marine Corps since the battle of Iwo Jima, seven of the marines and sailors were Michiganders, including Lance Corporal David Bousum of Fife Lake, Michigan. I remember that day very vividly. At the time, I was a KC-130 pilot stationed at Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois, flying the KC-130 refuelers. We used to fly all around the world, in and out of the Middle East doing our mission. Five days after the bombing was the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball for our unit and our greater Chicago marines. And that year, we had as our guest of honor then-Major General Al Gray, commander of the 2nd Marine Division, who a couple years after that became the commandant of the Marine Corps. The Marines are full of tradition and pageantry.…”