Mr. Speaker, all too often the painful stories of those who have served in Iraq go unheard by Representatives in Washington; however, their experiences are a window into the truth about the real effect of this war on real people, both in service and after they come home from service.

One of these stories belongs to Corporal Cloy Richards, who bravely served with the United States Marine Corps for two tours in Iraq and may soon be called back again even though he has been diagnosed with PTS.

Cloy Richards has a poem; it is a courage poem. It is entitled: ``Why I Fight for Peace.'' This poem is exactly the message we need to hear.

The message that shows us in our continuing debate on funding the occupation of Iraq, just how this affects our service members.

As I said, the poem is called, ``Why I Fight for Peace,'' by Corporal Cloy Richards, United States Marine Corps. And I am going to read it, Mr. Speaker.

``Because I can't forget no matter how hard I try. They told us we are taking out advancing Iraqi forces, but when we went to check out the bodies, they were nothing but women and children desperately fleeing their homes because they wanted to get out of the city before we attacked in the morning.

``Because my little brother, who is my job to protect, decided to join the California National Guard to get some money for college, and they promised he wouldn't go to Iraq. Instead, 3 months after enlisting, he was sent to Iraq for 1 year.

``Since he has been home for the last 6 months, he refuses to talk to anyone; he lives by himself. The only person he associates with is a friend of his, the one other man out of his squad of 13 men who made it home alive.

``He called me a few weeks ago for the first time, and he told me he's having nightmares. I asked what they were about, and he said, they're about picking up the pieces of his fellow soldiers after a car bomb hit them.

``Because every single one of the Marines I served with, the really brave warriors, even when some friends and people they looked up to got killed and lost an arm or a leg, they wouldn't cry; they just kept fighting. They completed their mission.

``Every one of them I have spoken to since we got home has broken down crying in front of me, saying all they can do since they got back is bounce from job to job, drink and do drugs and contemplate suicide to end the pain.

``Because I'm tired of drinking, bouncing from job to job and contemplating suicide to end the pain.

``Because every time I see a child, I think of the thousands I have slaughtered. Because every time I see a young soldier, I think of the thousands Bush has slaughtered. Because every time I look in the mirror, I see a casualty of war.

``Because I have a lot of lives I have to make up for, the lives I have taken. And because it's right. That's why I fight. Because of soldiers with wounds you can't see.''

As I said, Cloy Richards served two tours in Iraq. He is currently in the IRR and facing a possible involuntary recall for a third tour.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, I urge the President to remember that our commitment to our soldiers does not stop on the battlefield. It must continue when our troops return home.

Corporal Richards deserves our full support. He has bravely fulfilled his duty to fight for our country.

Now it is time for the Congress to fulfill its duty, and we must do that by heeding his call for peace. This is a call we cannot afford to ignore.