Thank you very, very much, Allan Rutter, for that warm introduction. And thank you all for being here today.

First of all, I would like to take a moment to recognize some of the people who are up here with me today. You’ve met Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter. Also with me are President of the DC Fraternal Order of Police Lou Cannon, American Federation of Railroad Police International President Rick Stevenson, Senior Legislative Liaison for the National Fraternal Order of Police Chris Granberg, Assistant Capitol Police Chief Bob Holland and someone I’ve known for a long time, U.S. House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood.

One of the things I enjoy the most about my job is the opportunity to celebrate achievement, and to thank those who give so much to this great Nation. Especially those who have placed their own lives at risk in order to keep others from harm.

President Bush and all of us in his Administration understand the critical role that first responders play in keeping this country safe every day. And there are no better examples than the two men that we honor here today.

On the morning of June 9, 2003, a man wandered into a store here at Union Station and attempted a robbery of a store by brandishing a hand grenade.

Amtrak Police and Capitol Police were called and, just outside the building, Officer Rodney Chambers of the Amtrak Police and Officer Michael DeCarlo of the United States Capitol Police, found the suspect.

He was holding a hand grenade and, when confronted by these officers, he pulled the pin.

Officer Chambers, a former Military Police Officer with the U.S. Army National Guard, moved immediately to hold the suspect’s hand around the grenade, preventing him from taking the second step to arm it.

Officer DeCarlo, seeing this, then subdued the suspect, allowing Officer Chambers to take possession of the grenade.

Still holding the grenade, and not knowing if it had been armed, Officer Chambers moved away from the crowd to ensure their safety, and waited for some 15 minutes for the bomb squad to arrive. I would suspect that was the longest 15 minutes that Officer Chambers ever experienced.

Although in the end the grenade proved not to be a danger, these officers had no way of knowing that at the time they acted.

Now, each of us must wonder, from time to time, what we would do when faced with the choice of placing ourselves in danger to protect others from harm. Would we hesitate, or would our instinctive reaction be to step forward, and help?

Officers Chambers and DeCarlo know the answer to that question. I hope they take great pride in the knowledge that they passed the test.

In fact, we are all being tested. The terrorist horrific attacks of September 11th, 2001, remind us that we all need to be more vigilant in our daily lives.

Every one of us can contribute to the safety of our Nation, whether we are catching a train here at Union Station or going about our daily lives.

The actions of Officer Chambers and Officer DeCarlo have shown us that, whether we carry a badge or not, we all have a role to play in making our world safer.

I know that all of us at the United States Department of Transportation, at the Federal Railroad Administration, at Amtrak and the Amtrak Police, and with the Capitol Police take great pride in our association with them.

And now it is my very great honor to present to Officer Rodney Chambers and to Officer Michael DeCarlo the United States Department of Transportation’s Award for Heroism.

Gentlemen, will you please step forward?

Briefing Room