Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 40th anniversary of ``Operation Homecoming,'' which made possible the release of hundreds of American heroes held captive in North Vietnam. One of those courageous POWs is my friend and our distinguished colleague, Congressman Sam Johnson of Texas, who didn't see his family for seven years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. Forced to endure severe torture, solitary confinement, malnutrition, and attempts by their captors to force confessions for propaganda, Sam Johnson and countless other American POWs conducted themselves with uncommon courage and heroic strength of character. In Sam's book, ``Captive Warriors,'' he writes about a phrase found scribbled onto the walls of his cell: ``Freedom has a taste to those who fight and almost die that the protected will never know.'' Because of men like Sam, I know that my nine-year-old son and my ten-year-old daughter sleep in a freer and a safer America tonight. President Calvin Collidge once said, ``The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.'' I, for one, am committed to ensuring this nation never forgets the sacrifice Congressman Sam Johnson and the countless American POWs who have endured such extreme hardship--and in many cases paid with their lives--to protect the freedom we cherish. Mr. Speaker, as a Texan and as an American, I am proud to salute patriot Sam Johnson.”