Mr. President, it is with great pride that I come to the floor today to speak about the courageous and heroic acts of a dear friend and constituent, Defense Protective Service Officer Isaac Ho'opi'i. I have always said that Hawaii is a unique place not because of its beauty, but because of its people. The people of Hawaii share a special attitude, which has been referred to as the "Aloha spirit." Aloha in Hawaiian has a number of meanings, including love. The Aloha spirit can best be explained as the love of others and is illustrated through acts of kindness. Isaac Ho'opi'i exemplifies and lives the Aloha spirit.
I rise today to honor the actions of Officer Isaac Ho'opi'i, who was awarded the Office of Secretary Medal of Valor for his efforts in responding to the tragedy at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. There have been a number of news articles and television segments recounting Isaac's heroic actions in the wake of tragic events at the Pentagon on September 11.
Isaac is most well-known as "the voice" in the dark smoke, moments after Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, calling for anyone who was in the blackened, smoke-filled corridors to come toward his voice. Seven people responded to his calls to head toward his voice and were guided safely out of the burning Pentagon on September 11. Isaac also physically carried at least eight individuals out of the burning building on that fateful day. He and his K-9 partner, Vito, worked 36 hours straight immediately after the plane crashed into the Pentagon - they have continued on 12-hour shifts since.
I was honored to attend the Medal of Valor ceremonies on Tuesday afternoon at the Pentagon. I witnessed Isaac receiving the Medal of Valor, the highest award in the Department of Defense for a civilian. 38 other individuals also received the award on Tuesday, and I salute their brave acts as well.
Isaac, born and raised in Hawaii, has lived in Washington, D.C., for the past twelve years and has spent the last five years as a member of the Defense Protective Service. I have known Isaac for over 12 years. I first met him when I was a member of the House of Representatives. My family and I have spent time with Isaac and his family, his wife Gigi, and their children, Emily, Bess, and Jeff, on many occasions.
When I spoke to him after September 11, and discussed his split-second decision to respond to the burning Pentagon with little concern for his personal safety, I asked him how he felt. He modestly discounted his heroic actions. I was told by others that Isaac felt badly after September 11, because he felt that he should have been able to help more people. I am sure that those 15 people who he personally helped out of the Pentagon, and their families, are very thankful for his quick thinking and willingness to risk his life. His own wife and family had no idea about his safety on September 11, because of his immediate response to the site.
Isaac is a man who is always willing to help others. During the awards ceremony, Mr. Paul Haselbush, director of the Real Estate and Facilities Directorate, mentioned a letter he received from a woman who had been stranded on the road with a flat tire for three hours in the cold. She wrote to the Department of Defense to thank the Defense Protective Service for the actions of Officer Isaac Ho'opi'i, who saw her stranded on the road, stopped to help her, and fixed her flat tire. When she saw his name, she recognized Isaac as "the voice" that she had read about in the newspaper who had saved some of the people in the Pentagon on September 11th.
In November of last year, Isaac went home to Hawaii for a family vacation. Isaac took one week of his vacation to talk to students in schools, not about his heroic acts, but about the events of September 11th and to answer their questions about why terrorists would attack the United States. I asked Isaac why he spoke with the students. He told me that he wanted to inspire them to reach out for their goals and dreams - that if he, a Native Hawaiian boy raised in Waianae could move to Washington, D.C., and become successful by helping others and sharing the Aloha Spirit, they could all do the same. He told me if he just reached one student his time would have been spent well. Isaac reached more than one student. He has received a number of letters from the students he spoke to during his trip to Hawaii.
On Tuesday, when I told Isaac that I was so very proud of him, he smiled, and told me that he was just trying to be a good Hawaiian and to share the spirit of Aloha. Isaac Ho'opi'i is indeed a wonderful man, a wonderful American, and his actions reflect the Aloha Spirit, the essence of the people of Hawaii. It is with great pride that I congratulate Isaac Ho'opi'i and the other 38 recipients of the Medal of Valor for their courageous acts on September 11, 2001.
