NAN A. S. HAYWORTH: “we struggle in vain to find the right words to try and make sense of the senseless. In the final analysis, we realize…”

“we struggle in vain to find the right words to try and make sense of the senseless. In the final analysis, we realize that no words can compensate, no words can comfort, no words can change the reality of loss confronted by the families of John and J.J. In the end, Mr. Speaker, we are left not with words but with examples. In the New Testament Book of James, the writer reminds us that words are one thing and actions are something else. In the midst of this tragedy, Mr. Speaker, we saw a devotion to duty that transcends the horror and mayhem of that hour of uncertainty, because J.J. and John reflexively answered their call to duty. In the end, that remains the truth and reality, that as professionals, befitting their brothers and sisters who wear the badges of honor in this House, they understood the true meaning of public service, which is not restricted to those who hold public office but in fact includes all of those willing to stand and put their lives on the line for an idea and a notion greater than themselves. Mr. Speaker, our Founders, in the Declaration of Independence, the first time we see in print those words, the United States of America, said in closing, we pledge our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor. So, too, did John and J.J. Rest in peace, job well done.”