On the recordJuly 12, 2005
on June 1, 2005, U.S. Army Corporal Phillip Charles Edmundson of my home community of Wilson, North Carolina, became the first war casualty since Vietnam. I rise today to remember his bravery by reading a poem he wrote just prior to his death, ``A Soldier's Reflections'': ``I was that which others did not want to be. I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do. I asked nothing from those who gave nothing and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness . . . Should I fail, I have seen the face of terror; felt the stinging cold of fear; and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment's love. I have cried, pained, and hoped . . . But most of all, I have lived times others would say were best forgotten. At least some day I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was . . . `a soldier.' '' ____________________
Source
govinfo.gov
