Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the time and really wanted to stand in support of the resolution and believe that the resolution is a good one and that yesterday in this week’s election speaks volumes for all the work that we have accomplished.
I want to speak more importantly in memory and honor of Sergeant Daniel Clay, who was killed when the marines were attacked in Fallujah on December 1. His dad, Mr. Bud Clay, wrote the President a letter and said that “I am writing to tell you how proud and thankful we, his parents and family, are of you and what you are trying to do to protect us all. This was Dan’s second tour in Iraq and he knew and said that his being there was to protect us.
“I want to encourage you. I hear in your speeches about ’staying the course.’ I also know that many” of you are against this war and you must get weary of fighting to try to do what is right. “We and many others are praying for you to see this through, as Lincoln said ‘that these might not have died in vain.’”
I also have the actual letter that Daniel Clay wrote his family to be opened in the event of his death, and I think it would be in his honor to read it. This is of course by a very young man”
“Mom, Dad, Kristie, Jodie, Kimberly, Robert, Katy, Richard, and my Lisa.
“Boy do I love each and every one of you. This letter being read means that I have been deemed worthy of being with Christ. With Mama Jo, Mama Clay, Jennifer, all those we have been without for our time during the race. This is not a bad thing. It is what we hope for. The secret is out. He lives and His promises are real! It is not faith that supports this but fact and I now am part of the promise. Here is notice! Wake up! All that we hope for is real. Not a hope but real.
“But here is something tangible. What we have done in Iraq is worth my sacrifice. Why? Because it was our duty. That sounds simple. But all of us have a duty. Duty is defined as a God-given task. Without duty life is worthless. It holds no type of fulfillment. The simple fact that our bodies are built for work has to lead us to the conclusion that God, who made us, put us together to do His work. His work is different for each of us. Mom, yours was to be the glue of our family, to be a pillar for those women, all women around you. Dad, yours was to train us and build us, like a platoon sergeant, to better serve Him. Kristie, Kim, Katy, you are the fire team leaders who support your squad leaders, Jodie, Robert and Richard. Lisa, you too. You are my XO and you did a hell of a job. You all have your duties. Be thankful that God in His wisdom gives us work. Mine was to ensure that you did not have to experience what it takes to protect what we have as a family. This I am so thankful for. I know what honor is. It is not a word to be thrown around. It has been our honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to. This is as close to Christ-like I can be. That emulation is where all honor lies ….. I thank you for making it worthwhile.
“As a marine this is not the last chapter. I have the privilege of being one who has finished the race. I have been in the company of heroes. I now am counted among them. Never falter! Don’t hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting.
“Now here are my final wishes. Do not cry! To do so is to not realize what we have placed all our hope and faith in. We should not fear. We should not be sad. Be thankful. Be so thankful. All we hoped for is true. Celebrate! My race is over. My time in the war zone is over. My trials are done. A short time separates all of us from His reality. So laugh. Enjoy the moments and your duty. God is wonderful.
“I love each and every one of you.
“Spread the word. Christ lives and He is real.
Semper Fidelis,
Sergeant Daniel Clay.”
Daniel Clay is like so many others who have fought to make yesterday possible, and yesterday is certainly not a conclusion but let us hope a beginning of a new and significant chapter in Iraq where the military sacrifices become smaller and the political engagement becomes greater.
One thing I have learned and loved about this House is the fact that we are using politics as a substitute for civil war. Let us hope that Iraq learns that lesson and that 200 years from now they will look back at yesterday as one of their first most significant days in democracy.