On Saturday, August 15, Vice President Joe Biden spoke at a memorial honoring the five servicemen who lost their lives during the July shooting rampage in Chattanooga. In UTC’s McKenzie Arena, Biden joined the families of the fallen, the Marines and sailors in attendance, and the Chattanooga community in mourning.
Addressing the families of the fallen, Biden said, “Please know that he will always be with you in the deepest recesses of your heart, in your every thought. He’ll be the voice you hear in your ear telling you it’s OK. It’ll be that feeling in your chest that just calms you down.”
Although Biden knew none of the servicemen personally, he empathized from his recent personal loss of his son Beau Biden, former Delaware attorney general who served in Iraq with the Delaware National Guard. “But, oh, I knew them. Confident, committed, determined, trustworthy, passionate, and always loyal—I knew them. They were my son,” said Biden.
In response to the tragedy that claimed the lives of Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Randall Smith of the Navy, Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist, Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan, Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells, and Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt of the Marines, Biden said, “America never yields, never bends. Never cowers, never stands down. Endures, responds, and always overcomes. Because we are Americans. And never, never underestimate us.”
For full video of the memorial service go here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?327651-1/memorial-service-chattanooga
(Photos provided by the U.S. Navy)
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