On the recordFebruary 25, 2013
I thank the gentleman for his comments. Mr. Speaker, Sam Johnson is a remarkable individual. The nickname that the Vietnamese gave him of Diehard, he's still that way. He's hardcore. He is opinionated, and he can back up everything he says. But that's a good thing. He does represent the best that we have in this country. His military background: We have, in the House of Representatives, Members of Congress, both sides, that have served in our military, all branches, in the Reserves, the National Guard, they served in World War II, they served in Korea and Vietnam, like Sam Johnson. They've served in both Iraqi wars, the Afghanistan war, and they're still serving today. We have Members who have lost their limbs for this country while on active duty serving this country. And Sam Johnson is among that elite that have represented America, the flag, and our country when our country needed our military. He's married, three kids--you now know that one of them died recently--and he has 10 grandkids. He served in the war, the second war, not the Korean War, but the second one, the Vietnamese War, came back home. Americans didn't treat our war veterans from Vietnam very well. They were treated real bad, in fact. Some of our American troops, when they came back home from serving in Vietnam, they wouldn't wear the uniform because Americans would ridicule them for what the country asked them to do. America has learned since Vietnam. We treat our warriors a lot better now.…
