Resolution Expressing the Tribute of Congress to Senator Bob Kerrey

"It was my duty." So did my friend and colleague Bob Kerrey recently respond to a question by CBS' Bob Schieffer, who had asked my friend why he did it -- why he led his elite SEAL team up a 350-foot sheer cliff and then down into the waiting enemy's camp, suffering life-threatening injuries in the process but effectively commanding his team throughout their successful mission.

For then-Lieutenant (j.g.) Kerrey, his duty was his honor, and his country's cause was his highest calling. That a young man from the plains of Nebraska showed "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty" in Vietnam, as his Medal of Honor citation recalls, reminds us that exceptional heroism can spring from the humblest of roots.

It was his duty, Bob says. Near the very beginning of the assault on the Viet Cong camp, a grenade exploded at his feet, injuring him terribly and threatening the success of the mission. In similar circumstances, many men, incapacitated and bleeding, might have given up. Not Bob. His sense of duty did not allow it.

His sense of duty compelled him to fight on, despite the trauma of sustaining multiple injuries, including one that would take his leg, and despite the chaos of battle, which has undone other good men who have found themselves in less dire circumstances.

Bob's courageous leadership won that battle on a Vietnamese island in Nha Trang Bay thirty years ago. "I don't remember doing anything especially heroic," says the plain-spoken Nebraskan. Although I do not know the men Bob commanded on that fateful day, I do know that their testimonial to his selfless heroism ensured that history recorded my friend's sacrifice.

That record, in the form of Bob's Medal of Honor citation, has surely inspired countless Americans in uniform over the past thirty years. As my colleagues know, it is with reverence and awe that uniformed service members and veterans speak of America's Medal of Honor recipients. They are, indeed, the heroes' heroes.

I myself am privileged to have served in the United States Navy, as did my father and grandfather before
me. They would tell you, as I do today, how honored we all should be to know a man like Bob Kerrey, a man
whose fighting spirit earned him the nation's highest award for exceptional military service above and beyond the
call of duty.

I am deeply honored to serve in the Senate with Bob. Ironically, he would be the first to tell you that he felt little calling for public service when he came home from Vietnam. For he came home not only with a broken body, but with an understandable resentment about the war, and toward those politicians in Washington who conducted it.

Bob's faith in our nation, and the values she embodies, was reaffirmed by his military service. It's a great country that will fight for other people's freedom, he says. But his faith in his government was shaken, as was that of many Americans, after the divisive experience of Vietnam.

What restored Bob's faith in his government? By his reckoning, it was the Philadelphia Naval Hospital, where he spent months in surgery and therapy. As Bob has said, the fact that our government would build and fund a hospital for people like him -- anonymous people who had never contributed to a politician's campaign -- and provide the medical care they needed, simply because they were wounded Americans, was inspirational. So were the medical staff and volunteers who helped heal his wounds.

Faith renewed, Bob went on to be Governor of Nebraska and a United States Senator. His independent leadership on some of the toughest issues we face today, including Social Security, education, and tax reform, demonstrates that this man, who gave so much for his country in military service, makes an important contribution to America's governance in peacetime.

In the words of Bob's Medal of Honor citation, "Lt. (j.g.) Kerrey's courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service." That leadership and sense of duty continues to motivate his public service today.

Bob's contribution to America's governance may grow. Although he will sit out next year's Presidential race, he may be a contender in the future. In the meantime, I am honored and privileged to work with him in the Senate.

Thank you for your valued service, Bob.