Purple Hearts for the Soldiers Lost in the Jolly 51 Crash

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaLOTA. Mr. Speaker, the seven young men who lost their lives in the 2018 crash of Jolly 51 in western Iraq deserve Purple Hearts.

Four of the seven were based out of the 106th Rescue Wing in Westhampton Beach in my district on Long Island. Two of those four were raised in my district: Master Sergeant Christopher Raguso of Huntington and Staff Sergeant Dashan Briggs of Riverhead.

For years now, the men of Jolly 51 have been denied Purple Hearts by the Air Force, despite efforts by my predecessor and me.

After having the privilege of speaking at a memorial service last week to honor the sixth anniversary of the crash, I am here today to recommit to the families of the men of Jolly 51 that I will do everything in my power to ensure they are posthumously awarded Purple Hearts.

They gave their lives in action against an enemy of the United States. Posthumously awarding each of these seven brave men a Purple Heart is the very least we can do.

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