Lee Zeldin: “Today we rise to honor the service and sacrifice of seven airmen fallen in the line of duty last week on the Iraq-Syria…”

“Today we rise to honor the service and sacrifice of seven airmen fallen in the line of duty last week on the Iraq-Syria border. There are no words that fully describe the profound sorrow and immense gratitude that consume us today. There are no words to describe the emptiness this loss leaves in the hearts of communities all across our Nation. There is, however, no shortage of ways to describe these seven servicemen: selfless, heroes, patriots, and everything we aspire to be as a people, as a nation, and as Americans. These fallen airmen are the best of who we are. They are the embodiment of what makes this country the greatest in the world, the willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our exceptional Nation. There is no doubt these brave men, and the so many who have fallen before them, are the reason we have the opportunity to stand here today in the well of the House of Representatives, in the heart of the United States Capitol, which should always serve as a beacon of hope and freedom for so many in our country and around the world. Each and every day, these seven Americans answered the call of duty, to defend the liberties on which our Nation were founded, to defend their neighbors and communities, but, most selflessly, to defend the millions of Americans whom they would never know. Four of these airmen served with the 106th Rescue Wing in Westhampton Beach, New York, located in the First Congressional District.…”