Date: 2008-06-10
Speaker: LINCOLN DAVIS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. The oldest and largest branch of the U.S. Army. the U.S. Army infantry. was established on June 14. 1775. when the Continental Congress ordered the formation of 10 companies of riflemen. The riflemen comprised the first armed force of a new Nation. a Nation destined to become the greatest. democracy the world has ever known. Since that time. the infantry has gone where other forces couldn6t go and accomplished missions others could not attempt. The story of the Queen of Battle has been written by individual infantrymen who have done their duty with pride. courage and honor. Their suffering and sacrifices won our freedom. preserved that freedom for over two centuries and will guarantee it in the future. Some were called heroes. some were not. but they were all members of a band of brothers who fought for their country in the cause of freedom. For more than two centuries the United States infantry has fought alongside other armed forces to protect their freedom. Their missions have sent them around the world and literally brought them facetoface with the enemy. From the Siege of Boston of 1775 to San Juan Hill. to the Battle of New Orleans. to the Argonne Forest. where Sergeant York distinguished himself. to the beaches of Normandy. they hunted the enemy in the Shau Valley. parachuted into Panama. and currently subdue our enemies on cold mountainside and hot desert sands in both Iraq and Afghanistan. When policymakers finished talking. when debate has ceased. when negotiations have failed and orders are given. it becomes the mission of the United States infantry to execute our national policy. Their courage. pride and sense of beauty to country and each other stood tall above any fear they faced. But the battle for our freedom has been costly. As many as 80 percent of all the servicemen and women who have died serving their country were part of the infantry. To honor the infantrys decorated history. the National Infantry Foundation. in coordination with the United States Army. have broken ground on a new worldclass museum honoring them. Located on a 200acre site of Fort Benning. Georgia. the National Infantry Museum will serve as a tribute to the infantrys legacy of valor and sacrifice. This museum will honor these soldiers for their selfless service to our country. while also preserving for all time the artifacts so poignantly telling their stories. It will tell the story of our ground soldiers. from the colonial period to Operation Iraqi Freedom Lessons of the past will be retold to help lead us in the future. Our children must learn and know that there are values and beliefs worth living for and worth dying for. that the freedom and liberty we enjoy today has come at a high price. and that the American values of patriotism. duty. courage and leadership are the hallmarks of the infantry and must be preserved. With 290 cosponsors. this bipartisan legislation honors the legacy of the United States infantry with the minting of the infantry coin. Money raised from the sale of the coins will go towards maintaining the National Infantry Museum. I applaud the efforts of the National Infantry Foundation. its rich history deserves to be kept alive for all who follow. These heroes are perhaps too humble to tell their own story. so we will have to do it for them. I thank the gentleman from Georgia for authoring this legislation. and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.