Political Quotes

“I rise to pose some reflections on the VFW. Many people will recall historically that during the Truman years there was an act of terrorism right in this Chamber, when terrorists of a different era shot up the entire Chamber here, wounding several people. One of the Members of the House at that time was the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Jimmy Van Zandt from Altoona, Pennsylvania, who helped to apprehend one of the terrorists with a gallant leap into the back portion of the balcony, and brought him or helped bring him to justice. But more than that, this Jimmy Van Zandt was also, prior to that, national commander of the VFW. He holds a place of honor in that organization for his special efforts and for his service directly to the country. Then there was Dominique DeFrancesco, also from central Pennsylvania, served as national commander of the American Legion when, in 1991, he joined then President Bush in the 50-year commemorations at Pearl Harbor. These are the kinds of devoted veteran citizens who are in the background of what we do here today when we enlarge the membership potential of their organizations.”