Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4672 which would name a Cupertino, California, post office after Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson, a Navy SEAL. Petty Officer Axelson was born and raised in Cupertino. After graduating from college, he joined the U.S. Navy, eventually earning a spot as an elite Navy SEAL serving on SEAL Team 10. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 and served as part of a four- man special reconnaissance element that participated in Operation Red Wings, a mission to counter fundamentalist forces in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. On June 28, 2005, Petty Officer Axelson's unit was assigned to kill or capture Ahmad Shah, a high-ranking Taliban leader in the Hindu Kush mountains. He and two other team members were killed in action as part of an ambush by enemy forces, but not until after the four-man group fought ferociously back against a significantly larger force. Axelson continued to fight alongside his teammates after being wounded in the head and chest, but he ultimately succumbed to his wounds. Axelson was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest military award for valor. The sole remaining survivor of the team wrote a book about the courageous actions of these men called ``Lone Survivor'' which was later turned into a movie of the same name. Mr. Speaker, Petty Officer Axelson's actions are a profile in courage.…”