Emerson Radio Address: An Independence Day to Be Proud

EMERSON RADIO ADDRESS: An Independence Day to Be Proud

"Here is a story of a brave young man that will make you proud to be an American, and on Independence Day, no less.

On February 13 of this year, the East Prairie High School Auditorium hosted an important event in the history of our county, of our state, and of our nation. But there was no basketball game that day and no pep rally. It wasn't graduation day or a holiday assembly. They were there, with me and the man I invited to join us: the Special Agent in Charge of the St. Louis Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was present to confer an honor on another individual, named Blake Hall.

That Monday, Blake Hall received a plaque honoring him from the FBI, a rare occasion, since the FBI of course rarely recognizes Americans who are not FBI agents.

What is the extraordinary thing about Blake Hall? Well, there are lots of extraordinary things about him. He has a wonderful family - they were right there in the front. He loves his country. He is a standout member of our community. It has always been his dream to serve others, and his ultimate goal is to be an agent of the FBI, that he may continue to serve his country in that way. Hence, the FBI Special Agent in Charge drove all the way down I-55 to be with us, to recognize Blake.

But the most extraordinary thing is that we were all there for him that day, and he was not, in person, there with us. Blake Hall has been laid to rest.

Blake is a member of the U.S. Army who died serving our country in Afghanistan. He lost his life for an honorable cause, in a land far from his Mississippi County home. But he also died protecting that Missouri home and fighting for the ideals and beliefs of our nation that he holds so dear. And that is why, when I asked him to send someone, the Special Agent in Charge of the St. Louis FBI told me he did not need to send someone, he would come personally.

Recognition from the FBI is the legacy of this one man from Mississippi County, and it is an important ceremony to signify something that should be repeated each time one of our sons and daughters in uniform comes home wrapped in our flag. In peacetime or in war, these soldiers strive to serve in a way that can only be understood by a military family. The rest of us can only reflect on their selfless deeds and try to live up to their noble examples.

I think a lot about Blake Hall. I think a lot about a man who cared so much about service that the way we honored him for sacrificing his life for our country was to talk about how Blake would have continued to serve upon his safe arrival home from Afghanistan. We took a day to honor his potential and the powerful future he put on hold.

We invited his family and friends to join us, and we honored Blake in a way that would have been important to him.

This is America; this is our independence. We do not have to do anything together. We do not have to march to the beat of the same drum or adhere to the same religious teachings or subscribe to the same newspaper or adopt the same political philosophy. We have freedoms to be different from one another in reality and in philosophy. But, sometimes, there is one thing all of us Americans must do together.

We must all vote together. We must all love our country, respect our flag, and honor the men and women who serve both. And when one of them falls, far from home, leaving a dream unfulfilled, we must carry that dream forward. That is the nature of our independence.

God bless you, Blake Hall. Happy Independence Day."

http://www.house.gov/list/hearing/mo08_emerson/col_060701.html