Norton Welcomes Home D.C. Soldiers Returning from Iraq War (March 18, 2010)
March 18, 2010
Norton Welcomes Home D.C. Soldiers Returning from the Iraq War with a Call for Congress to Make Them the Last to Serve Their Country without a Vote at Home
March 18, 2010WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today welcomed home more than 100 soldiers of the D.C. National Guard’s 104th Maintenance Detachment and its 547th Transportation Co. from the Iraq war. The 547th is the company of the first D.C. National Guard member to die in the Iraq war, Specialist Darryl Dent. Norton said, “As I wait for floor time for the D.C. Voting Rights Act, my joy at the safe return of our soldiers cannot help but be mitigated by memories of 21-year-old Specialist Darryl Dent, who was the first D.C. resident to die in the Iraq war without a vote and whose 547th platoon members are among those returning home today. This Congress must be the last to see residents of the nation’s capital offer the greatest sacrifice without a vote in Congress.” The soldiers began arriving in shifts earlier this week.###