Ted Poe: “the date: February 12, 1973, 36 years ago this day, when a tall, lean, underfed POW boldly boarded a C-141 transport…”

“the date: February 12, 1973, 36 years ago this day, when a tall, lean, underfed POW boldly boarded a C-141 transport plane with a tin can in his hand flying from Vietnam back home to America. His name? Colonel Sam Johnson, now a Member of this United States House of Representatives, from Texas. Sam Johnson was a fighter pilot, flew 62 missions in Korea, and on his 25th mission in Vietnam he was shot down. He landed in a rice paddy, was captured by the North Vietnamese, and for 7 years was a prisoner of war. He was tortured, beaten, but never broken. He did have a broken arm, and his other arm was useless. April 16, 1966 is when he began his 7 years of confinement. But today is his 36th anniversary from his 7 years in a POW camp. He served in a cell the size of a tomb with that tin cup and polluted rice, and sometimes a rat would come by. Madam Speaker, we want all of America's sons to grow up to have the character of Colonel Sam Johnson. We thank Sam Johnson for his 7 years of service in a POW camp. We thank all the Americans that served in those POW camps--those that survived and came home, and those that did not. And that's just the way it is.”