Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am honored to stand before you today to pay tribute to the life and service of a true American hero, First Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna, by naming the Bristol Post Office in his honor. A native of Bristol, Rhode Island, Sergeant McKenna dedicated 17 years of his life to serve and protect our country in the United States Army. Born in 1980 to his mother, Carol, and father, Peter, Sergeant McKenna knew at the age of 5 years old that he wanted to be a soldier, and by the age of 7 that he wanted to serve the Nation as a Green Beret. His family and close childhood friends recall him wearing camouflage-patterned clothes almost every day. Sergeant McKenna attended Mount Hope High School in Bristol, graduating in the spring of 1998. Upon graduation, he immediately enlisted in the Army as an infantryman. After just 3 years, he went to selection for the Green Berets. He completed the grueling Special Forces Qualification Course in 2003, achieving his lifelong dream to be a part of the military's most elite. Sergeant McKenna was then assigned to the First Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. He went on to serve one tour of duty in Iraq and five more tours in Afghanistan. During his first tour in Afghanistan, from 2004 to 2005, First Sergeant McKenna was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor for his tremendous courage under fierce enemy fire during a mission that resulted in the death of a senior Taliban official.…”