Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is my honor to pay tribute to the life and sacrifice of Marine Cpl Thomas A. Blair of Wagoner, OK who lost his life on March 24, 2003, from injuries sustained during a lengthy battle with insurgents while serving his Nation in Nasiriyah, Iraq. The son of Alfred Jr. and Nancy Hinton Blair, Tommy was born July 7, 1978, in Wagoner, OK. After graduating from Broken Arrow High School, he entered the Marine Corps in 1997 and was assigned to the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group-28, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Cherry Point, NC. Tommy was posthumously awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal for helping pull nine wounded marines into an armored vehicle before it was hit by at least four enemy rocket-propelled grenades and then a missile fired from an American attack plane. He was among 18 marines killed that day in fighting around Nasiriyah. Tommy was laid to rest in Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery in Joplin, MO, and is survived by his father Alfred Jr., mother Nancy, and brother Alfred III. ``He was a young man that would give the shirt off his back if someone needed it,'' recalled his older brother, Marine SSG Alfred Blair, III. ``He lived life to the fullest and enjoyed every minute of every day. In his first letter home to our mom, he said he was doing what he had been trained to do and was proud to be doing it for his country.'' Today we remember Marine CPL Thomas A.…”