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Statement of Representative John Linder – July 13, 2006
July 13, 2006
“Honoring 20006 Coast Guardsman of the Year: Yeoman Second Class Jeffrey Jackson"
We are a great nation, not because of great governance or great policies. We are a great nation because in America ordinary people do extraordinary things. And I am as convinced as I can be that another generation of Americans is now prepared to meet our new challenges and will lead, achieve, and secure freedom and liberty for the United States and the world.
And there is no better example of this fact than those before us today being honored for their performance of going above the call in our military services. In particular, I am here to honor Yeoman Second Class, Jeffrey Jackson, whose hometown of Lawrenceville is in the heart of my Georgia district.
In the tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina, Yeoman Jackson served as part of a security team to protect and defend the Integrated Support Command complex from looters until contract security personnel returned. Throughout it all, Coast Guardsman Jeffrey Jackson stayed true to the spirit and selfless heroism that is the hallmark of the United States Coast Guard.
During the peak of the crisis, Jackson was re-assigned from this security detail to join a boat unit deployed with the Hurricane Evacuation Assistance Team to assist Gulf Coast evacuees following Katrina. Yeoman Jackson was in the middle of it, rescuing people from rooftops, flooded homes, and a flooded nursing home.
President Bush has stated that “we want to be a nation that serves goals larger than self.” That is why it is important to know that, as Yeoman Jackson worked to help those in need, his own home and everything inside was lost to flooding. There specific examples of this dedication and service to his fellow man that marks Yeoman Jackson’s character.
Last October, he witnessed a vehicle roll off the road onto its side. He entered through the rear window to save a mother with two young children who had become tangled in their seatbelts. He retrieved all three and then stabilized them until medics arrived.
In November, after car drove off a bridge into the Industrial Canal, Jackson commandeered a passing fishing vessel, located the man struggling to maintain consciousness, dove into the water and pulled him to safety. The man, a police officer who had lost everything during Katrina, had driven through barricades into the water to attempt suicide.
Everyone should note that these duties and rescues were not normal procedures for him. He had not received any swim rescue or dive training from the Coast Guard or Navy. While we all hope that we would act the same in these life and death situations, Jeffrey Jackson has answered the call.
To be honored by one’s peers with this award makes this award particularly important. His senior officers have said that his courage under pressure, tireless efforts in his day job, personal commitment to physical fitness and devotion to service qualify him for this award. And Jackson’s supervisor at the Integrated Support Command has stated that without his heroic actions, the police officer would not have survived. He said “His decision to enter the water and rescue someone…truly embodies the Coast Guard’s motto” of Semper Paratus, or “Always Ready.” The recommendations of those who know him and work with him confirm this fact.
Great American military leaders have spoken in the past about “the words that dictate what you want to be, what you can be and what you will be.” They speak of “duty,” “honor,” and “country.” For his initiative, his duty, his commitment to his comrades, and honorable service to his countrymen in need, Yeoman Second Class Jeffrey Jackson epitomizes the everyday heroes of the United States Coast Guard.
Yeoman Jackson – I am delighted to be here and I am honored to salute you as this year’s Navy Times Coast Guardsman of the Year. Thank you for all that you do.
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