combatants bear witness to all aspects of the human condition it reveals the darkest parts of the human soul while residing side by side with the most exalted characteristics nobility honor valor and God's grace why do American warriors under fire do what men have done since this nation's inception this is a common thread that connects the militias of Lexington and Concord with the Warriors of Fallujah it is our love of nation our way of life and our love by those who we serve with side by side we defend we avenge we sacrifice we bleed and we
are willing to die for this unique creation the United States of America I am complete for having experienced that kind of sacrifice with my fellow men at arms and those who died they gave their lives for me they gave their lives for you and countless citizens who will never know them I'm talking about Sims Falkenberg Iwan Gonzalez Vandenberg Madison Gary antis Shrek Sizemore MOC Rosales Cardenas Sprayberry and Pruitt those were our countrymen those are our friends and these men will never get the chance to experience the cycle of life the birth and growth of their
children they shall not grow old because they chose to stand in our place and face the enemy for us it's not enough to acknowledge the fallen by name or just inscribe their names and marble as proof that they lived and died to truly honor the fallen we must acknowledge how and why they gave their lives their death wasn't a random act or a splash of misfortune these men and women voluntarily put the selves in harm's way prepared to die so that we may rest secured at home they are the insurance policy that guarantees that our
founding documents our god-given rights are more worthy than their own tomorrows when the news at Falkenberg Sims Madison and Iwan had fallen the reaction the shock the disbelief the grief it was transformed into resolve and rage to complete the mission assigned to us and give us even greater tenacity under fire their sacrifice gave us clear focus to fight using a reserve that we never knew we had we broke the will of our adversaries the enemy was defeated and because of that we came home for the infantryman in combat there is nobility and purpose in our
lives and that is unique but we don't see ourselves as a people apart we are America's warrior class we are citizens of the United States and treasure this land more than any overseas posting the army provided me with purpose and appreciation for the blessing America has bestowed upon us all I'm forever grateful to the United States Army for making me able to count and cherish those blessings in a way that is unique to most and to those who you wear the uniform I think the uniform I think my army has made us all better men
fathers employees husbands and citizens the controversy that swirled over the Iraq war was not a departure from other wars that America has fought just a short distance from where I grew up in Orleans County on the Canadian side of the Niagara River it was settled by loyalists who supported King George with the exception of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor open dissent has been at the core of our very beam and war has never been particularly a popular undertaking American soldiers have never confused the United States with Sparta the best leaders in battle become that
way by being loyal and dutiful subordinates we don't get a vote we execute the lawful intent of our government there is no political affiliation on our dogtags we continue the warrior legacy of the United States without regard for adulation or unanimous approval either the Iraqi veteran has maintained and in many circumstances far exceeded the highest traditions of military service to this great nation of the 1.5 million men and women who have served in Iraq the Valor they displayed was often subsumed by political rhetoric at home but that in no way diminishes the accomplishment of our
troops or the accomplishments of my generation at war the award is recognition of that and it should be seen as a validation of our efforts not as a reward for the action of one individual in one house in Fallujah when I think of Iraq I think of Colin Fitts man shot by three separate weapon systems nobody would have raised an eyebrow if fitzy retired instead Colin Fitts returns to combat duty for two more years to shed more blood for this nation that he loves when I think of Iraq I think of Chris Olli the young
saw gunner whose job it is to open doors and put down for a reflexive fire two people who happen to be shooting back at him and he was able to do that because behind him was Sergeant Warren Mesa ready to pull him out of that doorway and undoubtedly save his life I have Chuck Knapp my team leader Chuck Knapp saved our entire 3rd platoon Alpha Company - - when he stopped us from entering a building contained AED that would have killed all of us I think about Maxfield my saw gunner who asked our doc Abernathy
to fix his injured foot in the prone position so he could continue to knock down targets under fire while he was getting fixed up my guy John Ruiz who shielded the body of his buddy from incoming fire without fear of risk to himself when I think of the Iraq war I think Appy Odessa Hollis brave strong and steady our engineers who devised and deployed remarkable weapon systems that save countless lives our tankers - seven cavalry on the other side of Fallujah that hardly gets any notice for what they did there were indispensable Bradley crews who
busted through walls Omar Hardaway James Cantrell Chad Ellis who without a functioning 25 millimeter bush matter master cannon or tow or coax and let's not discuss how that happened he used his rifle to suppress the enemy Corey Brown the grizzly bear from Montana Shan Gossard humble beautiful kind Brad who to say er de la Lu the Bradley teams and those crews are the reason why children have fathers today and those teams shielded our dismounts from rocket fire that were meant to take our lives Corey McFadden John bandy Wilson Gary fry came they never took a
step backwards under fire sergeant John Gregory is one of the toughest most decent men I've ever served with he had a tour from hell a year after we came home our drivers Mark Cod gonzo Woodbury hunter Perez they got us there they needed where we needed to go and they did it with bravery and valor Iraq makes me think of Victor Santos a fiery brave soldier who cut his combat teeth in Iraq and went on for more and a Ranger Regiment McDaniel and Swanson young kids shouldering 240 Bravo's on their shoulder suppressing enemy fire from
feet away I had Stuckart I had Metcalf I had Flannery and gross and I had our door crushing he man hugh hall that is my iraq war and it makes me proud of told my dad no to dental school i learned no I learned much more from living and fighting with these men that I ever could have from a lifetime of doing root canals my units leaders died leading men from the front when I come to commander Shawn Sims our company commander he was killed in a house fire Joey Seaford and my interpreter Sammy who
just became a US citizen a week ago yeah you can fire her [Applause] Joey Seaford and my interpreter Sammy were there to engage the enemy and efforts to save my company commanders life Seaford engaged the enemy and threw his weapon at him engaging him with a buttstock of his rifle after being shot in the shoulder Travis barreto and my 1st platoon fought their way to extract wounded and fallen ramrods under intense enemy fire my Iraq war I had Captain now colonel Doug Walter I had First Sergeant retired command sergeant major Peter Smith these were company
leaders who put aside loss put aside trauma to direct young warriors during the most stressful times of our lives young lieutenants like Chris walls Jeff Emery lieutenant menno they learned how to lead and cover down when their peers had fallen and finally their Scot Lawson a true friend we lost him in 2013 he entered the house with me that night in Fallujah he gave me strength he gave me confidence that allowed me to survive that night and many other nights since then and I got to mention this guy Michael where a combat journalist there to
cover a story and becomes part of the story you know before I got to know him before I got to see him in action I would have told you he was a hundred percent worthless and a nuisance now that number is 65% [Applause] I was wrong Michael where is now the ernie pyle of his generation his reporting is a testament to what we all did and if it's not for men and women like Michael where our story would have gone unremarked most of the men I just described got little or no recognition for their valor
and subsequent deployments some would lose their lives years later it is our duty to tell the story of our brave men and women who sacrifice so much for our fellow citizens as I've tried to communicate to you today this is not a celebration about me I'm not mouthing a cliche we have much more work to do when it comes to the Iraq war veteran we are not there yet and we're not even close when it comes to educating our fellow Americans about what was accomplished what was sacrificed and what we all went through our survival
as a nation depends on it we honor our brothers and sisters in the United States Marine Corps Ambar province was their fight men like Brad Cassel Rafael Peralta Christopher apples Berger Brian Shawn Tosh Jeremiah workman sergeant craft they gave the enemy everything they could handle the Navy and Air Force completed the remarkable display of American valor and might and fought shoulder to shoulder in with the United States Army and Fallujah and all over Iraq this entire military is one cohesive dedicated force and the threats to our nation's they don't sleep they're watching our every move
Iran Russia China North Korea Isis al Qaeda they may be watching this right now our military should not be mistaken for a cable news gabfest show we don't care what you look like we don't care who you voted for who you worship what you worship who you love it doesn't matter if your dad left you millions when he died or if he knew who your father was we have been honed into a machine of lethal moving parts that you would be wise to of if you know what's good for you we will not be intimidated
we will not back down we've seen war we don't want war but if you want war with the United States of America there's one thing I could promise you so help me God someone else will raise your sons and daughters we fight we fight so our children ever have to we fight for one day when our children and our enemies children can discuss their differences without fear or loathing we fight so that anyone out there thinking about raising arms against our citizens or allies realize the futility of attrition against a discipline professional and lethal force
built to a stand anything you can dream of throwing at us Americans want this kind of country Americans want this kind of world and we stand ready to defend it to protect us so help us God may God bless this beautiful army may God bless our Marine Corps our Navy our Air Force and Coast Guard may God bless our allies and we already know that God blessed America because he gave us the greatest fighting force this world has ever seen - - infantry of the 1st Infantry Division Thank You ramrods duty first Dukes thank you
very much
