Welcoming Home Units of Texas Army National Guard

WELCOMING HOME UNITS OF TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD -- (House of Representatives - December 15, 2005)

(Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Pennsylvania is exactly right. In fact if my arithmetic is correct, the polls in Iraq closed just a little over an hour ago. Of course, we owe the great success of three successful elections in Iraq to the dedication of our troops that have served so well over there. In fact, this past weekend in Waco, Texas, citizens of Texas welcomed back the 56th Combat Brigade, over 2,000 Texans from the Texas Army National Guard who have been serving for 11 months in the country of Iraq.

This is especially important to my hometown of Denton, Texas. Seventy-eight members of the Denton-based Company A, 2nd Battalion of the 112th Army, have returned to their homes in north Texas. This is the first deployment of the Denton-based Texas National Guard since World War II, according to an editorial in the Denton Record Chronicle last week.

The 56th Battalion was not without its casualties. There were six who died in combat, two who died in training accidents, and 58 were wounded. Fortunately, none of the soldiers that left from Denton, Texas, were killed in action in Iraq. Only one was wounded. During that time they performed 7,000 combat patrols, escorted convoys for 1.3 million miles, and built 15 schools.

There is a parade in Denton this Saturday morning. We may not be done voting, I may not be able to attend, but my heart will be with my citizens in Denton as they welcome their sons and daughters home.

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