Honoring Our Armed Forces

HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

    Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, today I rise to pay tribute to those members of the Armed Forces who have served and continue to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Countless women and men have answered the call of our country to preserve and protect our freedom against those individuals and regimes that would seek to compromise or destroy our way of life. Reservists have left civilian lives behind, parting with wives, husbands, parents, children, and friends in order to fulfill their commitment to our country's defense. Active Duty military members have gone from merely conducting exercises mimicking war, to leaving their homes and families to engage in the real thing, on foreign soil, thousands of emotional and physical miles from familiarity and comfort. These brave soldiers, airman, marines, and sailors do their jobs in a place where injury and death lie in wait at every turn. The next rise in the gritty, windblown landscape may hide 160 pounds of profound desperation peering from behind the barrel of a gun. The building around the corner needing to be secured might be rigged with enough explosives to make a small child's father or mother nothing but a memory. floating just beneath the roiling surface of the water, there might be a mine, with deadly patience waiting for the next ship to pass overhead so that it can accomplish its gruesome mission. These are some of the hazards our military members face in their jobs. Frankly, it makes our job in these marble halls seem significantly less perilous.

    I speak today to recognize in particular those faithful men and women from my State—Idaho. We have had approximately 450 reservists and active-duty members called to serve in the war. That may not seem like a large number compared to those from some other States, but proportionately it represents a significant percentage of Idahoans. We also have countless other soldiers who have family and friends who call Idaho home. This number does not include the over 160 who were activated to fill positions vacated at installations here by deployed personnel. We also have Idahoans continuing to serve in Operation Enduring Freedom, and in the fight against terrorism. I have spoken before of MAJ Gregory Stone and CPL Richard P. Carl, both soldiers from Idaho who lost their lives in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I now ask for a moment of silent prayer and reflection from my fellow Senators as we consider what their dying, as well as over 150 other men and women who have met the same fate in this conflict, has accomplished for our personal freedom.

    Thankfully, many of those who were called to military service from Idaho have just recently returned safely home. Yet their experiences overseas will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

    Some may remember lines of tanks rolling ominously forward under a dusty sky, marred by waves of heat emanating from the desert floor. That memory may be infused with the pungent odor of layers of sweat and grime under desert camies, mingled with the acrid odor of burning gasoline and oil. Others may remember pulling the trigger on their weapon and seeing death for the first time in their young life. They may remember being close enough to smell it and feel it, or feel as if their own was but a whisper away. Still more may remember the sight of crowds, pushing against one another, some greeting the American soldiers with cheers of gratitude, some screaming epithets, some shamelessly begging for food and water to feed themselves or their starving families, and others simply greeting this modern army in grim, expressionless silence brought on by years of brutal repression and loss. The smell of desperate, poverty-stricken humanity, and the sounds of raw emotion cascading forth in an uninhibited tidal wave after a lifetime of unchecked tyranny, may remain forever embedded in the memories of many of those soldiers. Finally, and very tragically, some will never forget a life that slipped away while they clutched a friend's bleeding body to their chest in shared agony.

    I give account of these images to remind us of the grim reality of war, and the tremendous sacrifice that these noble women and men have made so that we can continue to live in glorious freedom. We tend to take for granted, at times, the price that is paid for this amazing gift. The cost comes not only in the loss of life, but the loss of innocence. The cost is borne by family members as well, and by those, whom never having set foot outside this country, bear the scars of a father, mother, husband, wife, son or daughter forever gone from this life.

    This body voted to support a decision to send these men and women into harm's way. Lest the proud soldiers from Idaho, and their persevering families, think that I came to that decision lightly, I stand now before you and recognize their tremendous bravery in the face of danger, their courage in the face of death, and their unequivocal commitment to preserving the ideals of liberty and democracy. I want to convey no doubt that their decision to become a member of the most well-trained, professional military in the world places them in my highest esteem. With gravity and sincerity, I thank them and I honor them. They have given me, my wife, and most importantly, my children, and yours as well, the priceless gift of freedom.