COMMITTEE PRINT 

111th Congress No. 2 

A Ceremony 

Unveiling the Portrait 

of 

THE HONORABLE 

DUNCAN L. HUNTER 

A Representative in Congress from the Fifty-Second District of California 

January 3, 1981 - January 3, 2009 

Elected to Ninety-Seventh Congress and Succeeding Congresses 

Chair of the Committee on Armed Services 

PROCEEDINGS 

before the 

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

U.S. House of Representatives 

September 15, 2009 

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 2009 

52–668

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250 

Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001 

A Ceremony 

Unveiling the Portrait 

of 

THE HONORABLE 

DUNCAN L. HUNTER 

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 

[ iii ] 
[ iv ] 

THE PORTRAIT 

The portrait of Mr. Hunter was rendered by artist Mark Martensen 

in oil on a stretched canvas. It measures 48 inches high by 36 

inches wide and is framed in a 6-inch bronze/gold painted frame. 
[ v ] 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

Congressman Duncan Hunter represented San Diego County in the 

House of Representatives for 28 years. He was first elected in 1980. A 

Vietnam veteran, he served in the 173rd Airborne and 75th Army 

Rangers. Hunter utilized the G.I. Bill to attend Western State University Law School in San Diego and, while completing his degree, he supplemented his income by working in farming and construction. After 

graduating, he opened a storefront legal office where he served many 

in the Hispanic community, often without compensation. In 1980, he 

was asked to mount a challenge for the Congressional seat held by an 

18-year incumbent, Lionel Van Deerlin. Despite the district having a 2- 

to-1 Democrat registration, Hunter won the seat in an upset. 

Coming to Washington, the new Congressman immediately sought a 

seat on the House Armed Services Committee where he could work on 

America’s national security needs. Hunter became Chairman of the full 

committee in 2002. As Chairman, Hunter oversaw a $500 billion defense budget and focused his efforts on providing America’s men and 

women in uniform the necessary resources to win our Nation’s military 

conflicts and developing modernization initiatives that will move new 

and more effective technologies into the field of battle. 

Hunter also has made securing the California-Mexico border a top 

priority. Congressman Hunter worked tirelessly to ensure that the region is safe for communities on both sides of the border and to put 

a stop to illegal immigration and drug trafficking. His provision to extend the San Diego Fence for 700 miles across Arizona, New Mexico 

and Texas was signed into law in 2006. 

Congressman Hunter’s other legislative priorities included retaining 

and increasing jobs in the 52nd District and across this Nation, providing tax relief to hard-working families and keeping our promises to 

America’s veterans. 

[ vii ] 

REPRESENTATIVE DUNCAN L. HUNTER 

Member of Congress 

1981 - 2008 

On America’s Manufacturing Base, January 2007: 

America’s Arsenal of Democracy is reflected in the thousands of factories, plants and businesses that make domestic products in peacetime, but can be called on to make military equipment in a time of 

war. Three times in the last century we saved the world for freedom: 

WWI, WWII and the Cold War. In World War II, our manufacturing 

base made more than: 100,000 tanks; 2.4. million vehicles; 36 billion 

yards of cloth; 3 million rifles; 41 billion rounds of ammunition; and 

41,000 artillery pieces. The Arsenal of Democracy carried Eisenhower’s 

forces to Berlin and paved the way for the Marines in the Pacific as 

they pushed the Japanese back to their mainland. This great arsenal, 

our industrial base, was important to collapsing the Soviet Empire and 

the Berlin Wall because it provided the strength in Ronald Reagan’s 

stand against the forces of evil. 

On the Goodness of America, January 2007: 

Millions of Americans help across our nation and across our globe. 

To our international critics I say: When you had floods the Americans 

were there. Asking for nothing, taking nothing, only helping. When 

you had fires and earthquakes and tsunamis, the Americans were there. 

When you had disease Americans brought medicine, when you were 

hungry, the Americans brought food. When you were attacked, Americans left the safety of their homes to defend you. Sometimes the Americans came under their government, but many times they just came because of the goodness of their hearts. America is great because America is good. 

[ ix ] 

THE ARTIST 

Mark Martensen 

An admiration for the simple life, old-fashioned values and the spirit 

of adventure are what ignited Mark Martensen’s interest in painting his 

vision of the Wild West. Born and raised in San Diego, California, 

Mark’s appreciation of the old west’s traditions developed artistically at 

an early age. ‘‘I gave my grandmother everything I painted as a child,’’ 

he said, ‘‘recently she gave it all back, and I was amazed that even then 

all I seemed to paint were cowboys and horses.’’ Self-taught as an artist, 

Mark’s California roots led him first to producing a variety of artwork. 

Painting professionally since 1986, his highly acclaimed works have progressed from a photo real style to a looser, more painterly style that 

has captured the attention of many collectors in both the United States 

and abroad. At his first juried show, as a virtual unknown, he took both 

first place and honorable mention. Since that time, Mark has had 

many one-man shows, participated in many group shows and received 

numerous awards. His paintings are exhibited all through the southwest and he is currently expanding his territory to include other regions. Mark feels his art speaks for itself, and his passion for this period in American history is exemplified in his work. With imagination, 

brushstrokes and the molding of clay, he is able to reincarnate the spirit of another time. Mark enjoys spending time with his wife and best 

friend Kerry, daughter Shannon and son Ian. With their support and 

belief in him, he realizes anything is possible. 

[ xi ] 

SPECIAL APPRECIATION 

American Maritime Officers 

AT&T 

BAE Systems, San Diego 

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Barnhart 

Mr. Bruce Bartlett 

Mr. Charles Blum 

Mr. & Mrs. Ron Bonaguidi 

Colt Defense 

Cubic Corporation 

Mr. John Dressendorfer 

DRS 

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony DuPont 

General Atomics 

General Dynamics 

Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Hodge 

Mr. Samuel Kahn 

Metals Service Center Institute 

Mr. Roger Millikin 

Mr. Chris Norch 

Pacific Ship 

General Terry Paul 

Port of San Diego Ship Repair Association 

Seafarers International Union 

Trex Enterprises 

[ xiii ] 

P R O G R A M 

2118 Rayburn House Office Building, 

6:30 P.M., September 15, 2009 

MASTER OF CEREMONIES: 

General Terry Paul 

INVOCATION: 

General Randy West 

REMARKS: 

The Honorable Trent Franks 

Member, Committee on Armed Services 

The Honorable Ike Skelton 

Chairman, Committee on Armed Services 

The Honorable John A. Boehner 

House Republican Leader 

The Honorable Duncan D. Hunter 

Member, Committee on Armed Services 

INTRODUCTION OF THE ARTIST: 

Mark Martensen by General Terry Paul 

UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT: 

Mrs. Lynne Hunter and the Honorable Duncan D. Hunter 

REMARKS: 

The Honorable Duncan L. Hunter 

[ 1 ] 

Unveiling Ceremony of Portrait of 

THE HONORABLE 

DUNCAN L. HUNTER 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, 

Washington, DC. 

General PAUL. Ladies and gentlemen, can we have your attention, 

please? 

First of all, on behalf of the Hunter family, I want to recognize all 

those friends who traveled long distances to come here for this cherished event, and certainly for the senior officials, fellow Members of 

Congress, that are here—Mr. Hunter’s friends over the years, some of 

them. And we have senior officer military and senior civilian officials 

represented on the Armed Forces and dignitaries, et al. 

I would like to start by introducing my good friend, General Randy 

West. He will offer the invocation. He is a fellow Marine, retired at 35 

years of service. And he thought about doing a career of it, but he is 

also a pastor of a Baptist church out in Loudoun County. As you would 

expect, Marines can do more than one thing. 

So, Randy, would you offer the invocation to us, please? 

INVOCATION BY GENERAL RANDY WEST 

General WEST. Let us pray. 

Our most gracious and loving Lord, we thank you this evening for 

this special event honoring the service of one of your sons to his family, his Nation and his God. 

We thank you for such a man as Duncan L. Hunter. We thank you 

for his 28-plus years of service in the U.S. Congress. We thank you for 

the wisdom that you granted him to make wise decisions as one of the 

highest leaders in our great Nation, as a Congressman and as chairman 

of the House Armed Services Committee. We thank you that he had 

the resolve, the determination and the resolution to stand firm on 

those decisions and on the values and principles that we all hold dear. 

We thank you that because of his service, America is stronger and 

safer; our troops are better prepared, trained and equipped to meet 

the challenges of the future; our families have a better quality of life; 
[ 2 ] 

our wounded and disabled are better able to enjoy our parks and national forests like everyone else; our factories and businesses make and 

sell more things that have the stamp Made in America; and all of us 

have better places to live, work and play. 

We also thank you for the strong and supportive wife and children 

that stood with him, and for his son that will help carry on the values 

and beliefs that were espoused by his father and grandfather before 

him. We ask your blessings on them and on their friends, colleagues 

and family that fill this room this evening. Give us a joyful time together and a safe trip to our homes. 

And last, Father, we ask your blessings on America’s sons and daughters tonight, that serve the cause of liberty across the face of the globe, 

many of them in harm’s way. Watch over them, keep them safe. Bring 

them home to families that love them and eagerly await their return. 

It is in your holy name that we pray. Amen. 

General PAUL. Thank you, Randy. 

I would like to introduce the Congressman from Arizona who wanted to offer a few remarks, Congressman Trent Franks. Trent’s recognition was that he was the first Member of Congress that endorsed Mr. 

Hunter’s candidacy for President. 

I want to go on record of saying 3 weeks later, I was number two. 

Mr. Franks. 

REMARKS OF HON. TRENT FRANKS 

Member, Committee on Armed Services 

Mr. FRANKS. I cannot tell you what a sweet privilege it is for me to 

be here on behalf of Duncan Hunter tonight. I know there is very little 

I am going to be able to tell any of you that you don’t already know 

about him. And he has heard a lot of things I have said about him, 

and I apologize in advance for repeating some of the things. 

But the first time I saw Duncan Hunter was in the House Caucus. 

And he got up and was talking about maintaining the strength of 

America, and he did it in such a way I thought, Wow, that guy reminds 

me of John Wayne. And I truly, ever since then, have called him the 

John Wayne of the Congress because he kind of reminded me of that 

old movie, The Green Berets. 

Do you remember there at the very end, there was John Wayne there 

with the little Vietnamese boy and everything had gone wrong for this 

little boy. He lost everything he loved. But John Wayne says, We are 

going to take care of you. He said, I don’t know what I am going to 

do. He said, Don’t worry about it, we are going to take care of you; 

after all, you are what this war is all about. 

And I think sometimes our veterans and our heroes, we characterize 

them because they are so courageous in battle, and there is certainly 

everything right about that. But let me suggest to you tonight that true 
[ 3 ] 

soldiers, like Duncan Hunter, don’t fight because they hate what is in 

front of them or because they hate the enemy. 

They fight because they love what is behind them. They fight because they love America and their families and the way of life that all 

of us are so thankful for. They are willing to give up all of their tomorrows and all of their todays so that we can have whatever opportunities 

that freedom presents us to have. 

And I will have to say to you—and Pete Geren said to me tonight— 

he is the Secretary of the Army. He said, Duncan Hunter is a soldier’s 

soldier. He said, there are a lot of reasons I put it that way. But most 

importantly, Duncan Hunter every day he was in this place, sometimes 

at night, was staying up figuring out ways to do what he could to make 

sure that our soldiers in the battlefield were more protected, were 

more capable, were better armed, better trained. He did everything he 

could to make sure that they had success in the battlefield. 

And I know that we will never really realize the ripple effect that a 

life like Duncan Hunter has. But I am reminded sometimes that we go 

through life—he went through life, 26 years on the Armed Services 

Committee, and he runs for President. That is a pretty big deal; there 

are not too many people who run for President. And he won all the 

debates, didn’t he? He won every last one of them. 

He always says, You are losing them, Trent, you are losing them. But 

I know that I am not. 

I know you know that this man is a substantive man and he has given 

his entire life to the cause of human freedom. And, yes, I had the privilege of being the first one to endorse him for President, and I would 

do it again today. 

And I am reminded that Winston Churchill, he worked very hard 

and essentially was the one who led us through this dark shadow of 

the Nazi swastika that was trying to fall across the planet; and he absolutely was used of God to save humanity in a significant way. 

And at the end of all that, the voters threw him out of office. And 

the media said, Well, now what do you think Mr. Churchill? And he 

said, Well, you know—and this is a rough quote—he said, You know, 

the only real guide a man has in this life is his conscience. The only 

shield to his memory is the rectitude and the sincerity of his own actions. 

And it is very imprudent to walk through this life without that shield 

because we are all so often mocked by the failures of our hopes and 

the upsetting of our calculations. But with this shield, knowing we did 

what we believed was right, no matter how the fates may play, we 

march always in the ranks of honor. 

And I will tell you that this man has left a path of honor everywhere 

he has gone. And he has a son now that is faithfully following that 

path, and only eternity will discover the impact of this family. 
[ 4 ] 

I know that the real backbone of it is his sweet wife; and she never 

gets the credit, but I know that she is the one that makes it all work. 

Yes. 

And finally now I will just say that there are a lot of great things that 

we talk about. We kind of get used to this life, and we forget the sacrifices that were paid sometimes so that we can gather in this place. 

And Duncan Hunter, along with a tremendous chorus of voices behind 

him, have put their lives on the line for the cause of human freedom. 

He never talks about being an Army Ranger. He says I never did anything too significant. But everyone that puts on that uniform, places 

themselves between the malevolent and the innocent. I will tell you I 

truly believe there is nothing more noble on this planet than putting 

your life on the line for the sake of the innocent; and that more than 

anything else characterizes Duncan Hunter. And he is a precious 

friend to all of us. 

I salute him with all of my heart. And I remind you all that he will 

always march in the ranks of honor. 

God bless you all. 

General PAUL. Ladies and gentlemen, those who currently wear the 

uniform and serve the day and those that served before, we are blessed 

that when our Nation changes hands periodically, and leadership, that 

we are not abandoned, that the welfare and the concern of our Nation 

and our Armed Forces are still in good hands. 

And with that in mind, I would say, I am pleased to see that the relationship and the friendship that Chairman Hunter had and the transition and the respect that he had for his relief and now it is still maintained. I would like to introduce the man from Missouri, the current 

chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Chairman Ike Skelton. 

REMARKS OF HON. IKE SKELTON 

Chairman, Committee on Armed Services 

The CHAIRMAN. I was wondering what happened to my notes for my 

comments, and Trent Franks took them. 

Portraits are wonderful tokens of memory, but you kind of have to 

be careful sometimes. About 20 years ago, Duncan, I had a lady in Kansas City, near my hometown of Lexington, call who wanted to do my 

portrait so she could put it on her brochure. And I was relatively new 

in Congress, and she thought it would be a good thing to have a Congressman’s portrait on her brochure. And being a bit on the egotistical 

side, I said, Yeah, that is a good idea. 

So I went up to Kansas City. I sat for her. She took pictures, and 

weeks later, my staff and I go by to look at the finished portrait; and 

the best thing I could say when I looked at it in her presence was, It 

is interesting. She gave it to me, and I gave to the Lexington Historical 
[ 5 ] 

Society with the understanding they may not show it publicly until I 

am dead. 

I trust the artist that you had did not go to the same school of painting that this lady did. 

What a thrill tonight. What a thrill. Duncan Hunter: lawyer, soldier, 

Congressman, chairman, but most important, a friend. 

A few minutes ago when I saw Duncan, he said, We have had a lot 

of good times together, haven’t we? And we have. What a thrill to work 

with this gentleman. And, Lynne, he is a gentleman’s gentleman. And 

I know what a wonderful home that you have; and your sons, he of 

course speaks of them so fondly. 

Duncan Hunter is one of a kind. One of the thrills of my life is that 

he and I walked together in Congress, in the committee, and in friendship. Historians don’t really, most of the time, write about the real 

things that happen in a legislative body such as ours. They talk about 

the issues and the great debates of the day. But so often it is the associations, friendship and trust that a Member of Congress brings. Ladies 

and gentlemen, the young men and young women in our military 

today and in yesteryear are all the better prepared, trained and safe, 

no kidding, because of Duncan Hunter. 

I salute you, Duncan Hunter, for all that you have done. Not just 

for them, but for our country. You have been an honorable Member 

of Congress that we can all look up to, and I hope that this portrait 

will speak for not just decades, but for centuries about your service, 

your decency, your intelligence, your care for those that defend us. 

And most of all, I hope it speaks about your honor because, ladies and 

gentlemen, this is one honorable, wonderful gentleman and this tribute is certainly well deserved. 

God bless. 

General PAUL. Ladies and gentlemen, our next speaker, who was 

born in Cincinnati, a place that I share the same birth with, Mr. Boehner, John Boehner, the House Republican leader. 

Your remarks, sir. 

REMARKS OF HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER 

House Republican Leader 

Mr. BOEHNER. On behalf of all of you and Duncan’s friends here in 

the Congress, let me welcome all of our military personnel, both active 

and retired, generals to the soldiers that are here. We really do welcome you. 

And Chairman Skelton and all of my colleagues, thank you for being 

here. 

You know, I had the opportunity to work with Duncan for 18 years; 

and there is nobody in the Congress, nobody in the Congress more 

concerned about the welfare of our soldiers than Duncan Hunter, no 
[ 6 ] 

one who paid more attention to making sure that they had what they 

needed to win the battle they were in and to win the war. 

And he and Chairman Skelton, I know, were close friends and really 

did, in fact, work hand in glove together over a very long period of 

time—something that we don’t see as much of in the Congress today 

as much as we used to. 

This ceremony is getting a little serious. Over 18 years there are a 

lot of stories that come about, and some of you know, I am pretty— 

I am a neatnik, and I am always working on Members to dress better 

and get a better tie. And Duncan, you never made it to the Esquire 

list nor will you ever. But I was very complimentary of Duncan, though, 

during his Presidential race because he had better suits and he had lost 

about 40 pounds. 

But one day—you know, about the first 15 years I was here, I didn’t 

have a car. So I was always bumming a ride here and bumming a ride 

there. So we were at some charity golf event, and I needed a ride back 

to the Capitol, and Duncan offered me a ride. 

So I got in this jalopy—and I am overstating it. 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. I paid $600 for that. 

Mr. BOEHNER. As we are flying down the road, all I saw was the highway underneath my feet. It is one thing to have an old car and it is 

another thing to be cheap. 

Or I could tell you about the time we had the Republican retreat 

up at Hershey, Pennsylvania, and so Duncan dragged Lynne out to 

some woodmaker or cabinetmaker, somewhere nearby in Lancaster. 

Someone in the Amish was making cabinets, and Duncan found this 

great deal on these cabinets that were made for somebody else, but 

they cancelled the order; and he thought these—he could make these 

cabinets work for his cabin over in West Virginia. The next thing I 

know, Duncan is renting a truck and a trailer to haul these cheap cabinets that he got, this great deal that he got, off to his cabin. 

Listen, one of the great things about serving in the Congress is that 

while we have a great opportunity to kind of put our fingerprints on 

the direction of our country, it really is a great honor to serve. But 

probably the most important thing that we ought to take away from 

here are the opportunities we have to work with other people and to 

meet people we would never have met otherwise. 

I can tell you what: Duncan Hunter is one of those people that every 

Member respects—you may disagree with him, but every Member respects. Because at the end of the day, Duncan always said it the way 

it was, and he did it his way. 

And, Duncan, we are all the better off for it. Thanks for being here. 

Lynne, keep up the good work. 
[ 7 ] 

INTRODUCTION OF THE ARTIST 

General PAUL. Mark Martensen, where is Mark? Mark, come up here 

just a minute. I want to introduce the prize artist of the event, Mark 

Martensen. Mark’s wife is here and his two children. Let’s see, we have 

Kerry, Shannon and Ian. Thank you for coming. 

You have been painting since 1984, 1986—— 

Mr. MARTENSEN. Professionally, yes. 

General PAUL [continuing]. And never were taught anything, selftaught? 

That is how he got into Congress. He kind of picked it up along the 

way, yeah. 

So how long did it take you to paint this portrait, a couple of days? 

Mr. MARTENSEN. Well, he thinks it took a couple of days. 

General PAUL. The final one. I mean, after you did the three that 

he didn’t like? 

Mr. MARTENSEN. The one with the headdress, yeah. You know what? 

I couldn’t pinpoint it. 

I have to tell you what, though. I have to thank my wife and my kids, 

honestly, for putting up with me. I was painting until the strangest 

hours of the night—early morning, waking up grumpy, getting right 

back in, making my coffee, growing a beard. It was a journey. 

But I appreciate them putting up with me. And I thank you for that. 

General PAUL. I have a Mark Martensen in my home, too. And I 

asked somebody one time, I said, What is an artist’s proof? They said, 

That is one that they had left over that they couldn’t sell. No. 

Thank you so much for what you have done. Thank you. 

Mr. MARTENSEN. Thank you. 

General PAUL. Ms. Lynne. 

Mrs. HUNTER. Well—— 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. Remember, we have to go home together. 

UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT BY MRS. LYNNE HUNTER AND 

HON. DUNCAN D. HUNTER 

Mrs. HUNTER. I know that. 

No, I don’t have to remember that. You do. 

Okay, anyway, as you all—there are a lot of people here that we have 

known for years. I don’t think Duncan has known a stranger, both 

sides of the aisle; he works with everybody on all the issues. 

And I have to say that he truly is a humble and a very noble person. 

And his humility almost did not let me make him do this. But as I said, 

I made him do this portrait because he has children and grandchildren; and I felt that it was something that we could give them as 

parents and grandparents. 

And everybody that has talked about Duncan has pretty much put 

him in a wrapper, what they have said about him, because it is true. 
[ 8 ] 

We have been married 30—I don’t know, 36 years, I think. I don’t 

know. I always have to stop and think. 

But he had just gotten back from Vietnam, and the first thing I 

made him do was grow his hair out. 

But it is true, you can’t clean up Mr. Hunter. He did clean up pretty 

good for the Presidential race. But Duncan is Duncan all the way 

through and through, and he is never going to change. And he is what 

he says he is, and he stands for the goodness of this country. God, family and country is where he stands. 

And I am really very proud to have my son in Congress now. You 

know, as a mother and a father, what you—what your children become 

is pretty much what you are because you make them what they are, you 

try to teach them, you try to guide them. And I think we have done 

a pretty good job. 

Sam left last night for Iraq. He is in the Army. He decided to follow 

his dad’s steps. 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. A good man. 

Mrs. HUNTER. Duncan, of course, was in the Marine Corps and he 

did a great job in the Marine Corps. I always thought a forward observer was somebody that looked way back there forward and observed 

what was going on. When he got home from the Marines, I learned 

what a forward observer really did. 

But you can tell what kind of a person you are by what you do in 

this life. And I have to say I am—I don’t say it much, but I am going 

to say it today, I am very proud of Duncan and what he has done for 

this country, for the military, to keep this country safe and for standing 

for God and his true belief and what this Lord is going to bestow on 

this Nation. 

And so I would like for my son, Duncan, to come up here, because 

I want him to help me unveil the portrait. 

And, you know, Hunters do a little—things a little different. I don’t 

know if you know that or not. If you know Duncan, you know they do. 

But I want Duncan to help me unveil his dad’s portrait. 

And I have to hand it to Mark Martensen. He really did capture 

Duncan in his entirety. So you can take that any way you want. So we 

will go from there, Mark. 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. Duncan, aren’t you going to make a speech 

about me? 

Mr. DUNCAN D. HUNTER. After we unveil. 

[Whereupon, the portrait was unveiled.] 

General PAUL. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, we will do the best part 

of the story now. We will let you hear from our future, the new Duncan Hunter. 
[ 9 ] 

I want to tell you a quick story about Duncan, Sr. During the Presidential campaign, he called me one day; and he says, I would like you 

to do me a favor, a little favor. 

Okay, I will do a little favor. What is it? 

He said, Would you be willing to go down to South Carolina for me 

and give some speeches, because I am being pulled into Nevada and 

I cannot be at both places. 

You want me to represent you in a Presidential debate? 

Yes. 

Okay. When are we going to do this? 

Tomorrow. 

Okay, tomorrow. Do you have any script or speech that I could probably look over on the drive down? 

No, I don’t really have anything. You are pretty familiar with my position on things; just go with that. 

So if you look, you can kind of see a little dip in his numbers about 

then. 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. It was tough to go much lower. 

General PAUL. And I struggled a little bit with the value added tax. 

But you had a very good race. 

His son came to me one day many years ago, right after 9/11 and 

he said, General Paul, I want to join the Marine Corps, be a Marine 

officer. 

I said, Well, that is a fine undertaking. How old are you? 

Twenty-one, 22. Something like that. College graduate. 

Does your dad know about this? 

Yeah. He is okay with it. 

Does your mom know about it? She will be okay with it. 

This wasn’t too hard. He had a fine background, experience, et 

cetera, not like his father that struggled with an Army career. But the 

young Duncan Duane was a fine officer that when our country needed 

his service, he was there for it without any prodding, without anything—it was the right thing to do. And it shows the leadership, I 

think—as Ms. Lynne had mentioned—of the family of their other beloved son, Sam, who just marched off to the sound of the guns this 

last weekend. 

We know those sacrifices. I know Duncan has comforted me in life. 

We have had some great times, some good times. But in serious times, 

when I lost my brother on 9/11, it was Duncan that was there, that 

was holding my hand and saying the right things in that. And so they 

have been close to me. 

But, Duncan Duane, we expect great things out of you. 
[ 10 ] 

REMARKS OF HON. DUNCAN D. HUNTER 

Member, Committee on Armed Services 

Mr. DUNCAN D. HUNTER. Good luck with that, Terry. 

And thanks to the great General Paul, a great mentor, a great Marine and a pretty good lobbyist now, I think. And I want to say, Mom 

told me to tell you guys one thing. There are a lot of folks here that 

have different business backgrounds. Dad is looking for a job. His resume is outside. But you have to promise to take him every month for 

at least 2 weeks back out here to D.C., so she has some time on her 

own. 

You are welcome, Mom. 

Somebody was asking how long dad sat for this portrait. If you look 

at it, he looks about 20 years younger. It was actually me sitting for this. 

They just put some wrinkles on, and that is why he looks so good. 

That was probably the best joke I ever heard my mom tell, got all 

of him ‘‘in his entirety.’’ How many canvasses did Mark have to use 

for that? 

Did you have to use two, Mark? 

There were so many nice things said about Dad—it was during—I 

was on Fox News about a month and a half ago. And it was the big 

Fox News, and I am on with somebody talking. And I come on and 

he goes, Well, you don’t look like Duncan Hunter. 

I said, I am Duncan Hunter; try a little Botox and exercise, and you 

can do this too. 

So about a half an hour after that was on, I get a phone call from 

my consultant back in San Diego. They say, Someone just filed papers 

against you. I think it is your father. 

And I just want to thank all the great servicemen and -women who 

are here tonight. I think there are more Marines here than there are 

soldiers, sailors or airmen, which is pretty telling. We like to say, My 

dad’s dad, Bob, was a Marine in World War II. Dad joined the Army, 

I went Marine Corps. So the standing joke is, Talent skips a generation. 

But now that my little brother just joined the Army—he is a grunt 

in a Stryker brigade, and he is over there, so we are going to be praying for him. 

Let me just tell you in all seriousness—I will keep this really short— 

there is no greater man in my life, no better leader who truly holds 

the principles of what we stand for as a country. And as was said earlier, God, family, country, honor, duty, commitment, however you want 

to say it, dad’s priorities were always in the right place. And those of 

us that are Members here—I am still a brand-new freshman. Those of 

you who have been here for a while, you are always gone from your 

families, you are out here working hard. It is very difficult sometimes. 
[ 11 ] 

And that was hard for us kids growing up, to understand why Dad 

was gone all the time. But we understand now because we live in a 

more dangerous world in some ways after 9/11, but also in safer ways 

because we have people like Chairman Skelton and Chairman Hunter 

here that came back from 9/11 and tried to recover. And we have— 

and we are stronger because of it. 

And it is just great—and difficult in some ways—to have somebody 

as great and steadfast and as principled as my dad. And I come back 

from here and there are folks saying, This is probably, from what I 

have heard, the most partisan Congress in people’s recent memory. 

And there is some bitterness here that has not been here in previous 

Congresses. And I come home and I say, Everybody—and I mean everybody; people from the exact opposite political spectrum as me—will 

walk up to me and say, Your father was a great man; I truly respected 

him. And that really means something to me, because you don’t see 

a whole lot of that anymore. 

And I came home and asked Dad who he was cavorting with out 

here, because he has all of these folks paying him great compliments. 

He was truly kind of the old gentleman here in Congress, with friends 

all over, very principled; and there was no other man that I would rather follow into battle than my father. 

Dad, thank you for everything. Great Congressman, great father, 

great husband and a great chairman. And a wonderful wife, Mom. 

REMARKS OF HON. DUNCAN L. HUNTER 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. You know, I talked to my other son—favorite—just a couple of hours ago. Sam is leaving—Lynne and I came 

back from Fort Lewis, Washington. We went up to drive the family 

goods down while Sam deployed to Iraq. And Teresa, his wonderful 

wife, flew back with the two granddaughters. 

So I am the driver. I was going to drive everything down and then 

fly out from San Diego. But he kept—his delayed time kept getting 

pushed back. So we ended up flying from Seattle. 

So I have a U-Haul truck and a Suburban car that Lynne thinks was 

not a good deal, but I think it was a great deal. But I pulled into the 

gas station to gas it up for the trip down, and it wouldn’t start. It was 

another one of my great deals. But we have that thing waiting for us. 

It is a wonderful life. 

And, in fact, my daughter-in-law, Teresa, called me up the other day. 

And they just bought a little ranch in San Diego. And she said, You 

have to go out and meet the trashman because he is bringing this huge 

dumpster to clean the new ranch up, and you have to be there at 7:00. 

And I said—I was looking at the invite and the time to come down 

here for the unveiling. I said, Teresa, I was the chairman of the Armed 
[ 12 ] 

Services Committee. She said, You can’t be a minute late, you have to 

be there at 7:00; the trashman does not like to wait. 

So I am comfortable in my new role, and most of my role has been 

air conditioned. It has been a lot of fun. It has been a great privilege. 

I have got to thank you, Trent, for doing that wonderful job. 

And, Ike, thank you, my friend. 

Thank you to Terry Paul. Where is Terry at? You did make a resounding speech. Did Terry leave for another talk already? Oh, he is 

still here. You did make a wonderful speech for me. What a great 

friend. And you did teach Duncan how to navigate. 

I have got to tell you one story about Duncan. He came in from the 

officer’s basic course. And his first time out, trying to find his objective 

at night in the forest in Quantico with a compass, he couldn’t find it. 

I said, Duncan, you just keep it right in front of you and just keep 

your eyes right on that baby, and you will find your objective. 

He said, Dad, it is tough to read the compass when you are under 

water. 

And Terry taught him how to read a compass at night. And, Terry, 

thank you for guiding him and taking him along the straight and narrow. 

I want to thank my wife, a wonderful lady who did the most important thing that you can do in this world, which is to give character to 

your children. And she gave that character to Duncan and to Sam. And 

for that, I am always grateful. And this has been a great occasion because she has been forced to say a lot of really neat things about me, 

and it is fun. 

I have got to tell you, this is a lady who can drive a tractor or meet 

the queen. She would rather drive the tractor. And many times—taking 

Frank Wolf’s old advice, my great old friend who said, You have got 

to spend time with your family. Many times she said, We are not going 

to the White House, we are not going to the Hill; we are going to the 

soccer game, we are going to go out and do stuff with the kids. And 

she has imbued that ethic with Duncan and Sam, and that is important. 

To all my great friends who are here, my great colleagues, thank you 

for being good friends, good supporters; and for letting me work with 

you, all my colleagues who have done such remarkable things. 

And we have won the war in Iraq. To all my colleagues on the 

Armed Services Committee, Democrat and Republican, we won that 

war. And I tell that to every man and woman who wears the uniform, 

who served there, because they deserve to be credited with their accomplishment. The violence is down 90 percent; the government is 

going to hold. The government is going to hold. We didn’t promise 

we would replicate Iowa. We have done a marvelous thing under incredibly difficult circumstances. And that shows young people—it is 
[ 13 ] 

due to those young people that wear that uniform and follow that 

great flag. 

I was with Sam in the early morning. He was scheduled to depart 

about 15 times from Fort Lewis, usually at 4:00 in the morning in the 

last couple of days. And I was out there with him in the early morning 

at the 4th Stryker brigade, and as I walked out, I could just make out 

some words on the steps that they were walking down as they were 

moving out to deploy. And the first words said ‘‘selfless service.’’ Selfless service. The second word was ‘‘honor,’’ and the last words were 

‘‘personal courage.’’ And those young people have given—have shown 

us the personal courage that amazed our enemies and, I think, left our 

allies in awe, because a lot of the allies don’t have those great attributes that the men and women who wear the uniform of the United 

States have. 

And, my colleagues, you have done wonderful things, all of you, to 

make sure that those great American heroes who wear that uniform 

have all the right equipment, who have got different challenges in Afghanistan. We have got to solve that problem of the Pakistan strip, the 

emerging threat with IEDs and the difficulty of splitting that population away from the Taliban. We are going to do it. 

We are going to do it with a lot of old hands, those great guys who 

are battalion commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 5, 6, 

7 years, who go back, try something; if it doesn’t work, they adapt. And 

they are persistent and they win and they prevail. So this country is 

going to be a great country as long as we have wonderful people like 

that, and there are a lot of them in this room. I want to thank all of 

them. 

I just want to thank all the great friends who are here, all the folks 

that helped me in the campaign. My Aunt Charlene is here from 

Texas. I will never forget when the Dallas Morning News said, when 

we were going to the State convention in Texas—the only one which 

I won in the straw poll—and they said, Hunter’s campaign is so underfunded he has to stay with relatives while he is in Dallas. 

That is—I won that straw poll, 2 to 1; the closest guy was Fred 

Thompson. And they had a big press conference afterwards, and I 

looked right at that reporter and I said, That was outrageous that you 

said, I am so poor I have to live with relatives and tell Aunt Charlene 

I will be home late for dinner. And I was. We had a wonderful time. 

But you have got a lot of challenges ahead of you, and I know I have 

kept all of you too long. I look forward to saying hello to everybody. 

I just finish by saying this: When Lynne and I first arrived—— 

Mrs. HUNTER. I don’t think it sunk into him yet that he is not a Congressman anymore. He keeps on going. 

Mr. DUNCAN L. HUNTER. I have got to finish, Lynne. I have to finish, 

Lynne. 
[ 14 ] 

This is—when we came here in 1980, that was 28 years ago. Ronald 

Reagan was being sworn in on the front steps of the Capitol, and I 

walked up. Ike, you were there; I think you came in 2 years earlier. 

Lots of my great colleagues here were there. 

And the President talked about renewing this country. And as he 

closed that speech, the Inaugural Address—and that is why we have the 

Reagan there, home-ported in good old San Diego. I know Ike is going 

to make sure it stays there. Right, Ike? 

He was on the west steps, and he pointed straight out to the west. 

And he said, There is the Washington Monument, dedicated to the Father of Our Country; and beyond that, the Lincoln Memorial, dedicated to the man who saved the Union; and to the Southeast, the Jefferson Memorial, dedicated to the man who put those great words in 

our founding documents. 

But, Ronald Reagan said, beyond all of those monuments are thousands of monuments dedicated to Americans who gave that same full 

measure of devotion. And that is Arlington Cemetery. And he said, 

Under one of those monuments lies a man named Martin Treptow, 

who left his little barbershop in 1917; and he went to France to fight 

with the Rainbow Division, and he was killed after he had been in 

country about 3 weeks. And when his friends found his body, they 

found that he had kept a diary. And the last thing that he wrote in 

this diary was, I have to fight this war as if the success or failure of 

America depends on me alone. 

And that is a challenge that Ronald Reagan gave us in 1980. And 

for every one of us who was involved and all my colleagues who are 

still here, fighting this fight and working hard to make sure that our 

troops are prepared, that is the challenge that we have, to keep our 

security in this increasingly dangerous world. 

Thank you so much for what you are doing. Thanks to my son, Duncan, for the great words and all my colleagues who have spoken. And 

thanks for this wonderful honor. It is better than I deserve. 

Most of my career has been air conditioned. But it is kind of nice. 

And, you know, it is just good to be here with Lynne one last time in 

Washington, D.C. 

Thanks so much. God bless you. 

[Whereupon, at 7:17 p.m., the presentation was concluded.] 
[ 15 ] 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES 

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

IKE SKELTON, Missouri, Chairman 

JOHN SPRATT, South Carolina 

SOLOMON P. ORTIZ, Texas 

GENE TAYLOR, Mississippi 

NEIL ABERCROMBIE, Hawaii 

SILVESTRE REYES, Texas 

VIC SNYDER, Arkansas 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

LORETTA SANCHEZ, California 

MIKE MCINTYRE, North Carolina 

ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania 

ROBERT ANDREWS, New Jersey 

SUSAN A. DAVIS, California 

JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island 

RICK LARSEN, Washington 

JIM COOPER, Tennessee 

JIM MARSHALL, Georgia 

MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam 

BRAD ELLSWORTH, Indiana 

PATRICK J. MURPHY, Pennsylvania 

HANK JOHNSON, Georgia 

CAROL SHEA-PORTER, New Hampshire 

JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut 

DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa 

JOE SESTAK, Pennsylvania 

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona 

NIKI TSONGAS, Massachusetts 

GLENN NYE, Virginia 

CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine 

LARRY KISSELL, North Carolina 

MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico 

FRANK M. KRATOVIL, Jr., Maryland 

ERIC J.J. MASSA, New York 

BOBBY BRIGHT, Alabama 

SCOTT MURPHY, New York 

DAN BOREN, Oklahoma 

HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, California 

ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland 

MAC THORNBERRY, Texas 

WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina 

W. TODD AKIN, Missouri 

J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia 

JEFF MILLER, Florida 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey 

ROB BISHOP, Utah 

MICHAEL TURNER, Ohio 

JOHN KLINE, Minnesota 

MIKE ROGERS, Alabama 

TRENT FRANKS, Arizona 

BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania 

CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, Washington 

K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, Texas 

DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado 

ROB WITTMAN, Virginia 

MARY FALLIN, Oklahoma 

DUNCAN HUNTER, California 

JOHN C. FLEMING, Louisiana 

MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado 

THOMAS J. ROONEY, Florida 

TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania 

ERIN C. CONATON, Staff Director