On the recordFebruary 25, 2013
I want to talk about a remarkable individual that serves with us in the House of Representatives. We are really surrounded by remarkable people, 435 individuals who came from other walks of life. Most of them had other careers before they came to the House of Representatives. But tonight, we're going to talk about the anniversary of one individual. Because, you see, 40 years ago, Colonel Sam Johnson was released as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He had spent 7 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. It all started when he was flying one of his F-4s, being a pilot. This was not a new experience. I mean, after all, he had served in Korea and flew 62 combat missions in an F-86 Sabre called Shirley's Texas Tornado, after his wife, Shirley. So he flew 62 in the Korean war; Vietnam, he's on his 25th mission flying an F-4 Phantom. He left Laotian airspace, came into North Vietnam, and he was shot down by ground fire. This was not his first tour of duty in Vietnam; it was his second tour of duty. Sam Johnson is an American warrior. After he was shot down on this day, April 16, 1966, his life took a turn, a different turn. When he parachuted out of his plane, his shoulder was injured--of course the Vietnamese, they didn't do anything to help his injuries, and he still carries some of those wounds from his prisoner days and from when he crashed or when he came back down to Earth in that parachute.…
