6/14/2017--A Day of Infamy in America

Floor Speech

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for this moment.

Mr. Speaker, I think back to that day. At noon, when we gathered in this Chamber, I sat right over here in the front row. Speaker Paul Ryan went to the podium, and as was said already, he said that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

As I look around the Chamber, not much has changed from that day to today. The carpet is the same. The chairs are the same. Some of the people are the same, but none of us who were on the field that day are the same. It has had an impact on all of us.

As you just heard Coach Williams tell his story, Mr. Speaker, we all have the same story but different perspectives. Some of it is that, physically, we were in different locations, as I was in a different location than Representative Wenstrup, who was in a different location than our coach, but we all experienced the same thing.

One thing that you will hear, Mr. Speaker, that is consistent are the miracles that happened that day. One of the things that this has had an impact on me, as we have all dealt with some level of traumatic stress afterward, but this has built my faith.

Hebrews 11:1 says that ``faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.''

None of us saw angels on the field deflecting bullets that day. None of us were there when an angel spoke to the groundskeeper the night before and impressed upon him to lock the gate on the third-base side of that field. Had he not called a groundskeeper at 9 o'clock the evening before our practice and had not chain-locked that gate, that shooter would have gotten on the field, and it would have been a different story. We didn't see the angels conducting the miracles, but the evidence was there.

I was standing at home plate. I had just put on a batting helmet, and I was waiting on my turn to step into the batter's box and take some live pitching. Rodney Davis was there ahead of us, and he was hitting. As I was standing there, I heard the distinct sound of the report of a firearm.

Now, where I live in Georgia, that is not unusual. When I am working in the backyard, I hear shots all the time of people sighting in their rifles, doing target practicing. I didn't think much about it at the moment, but then I realized I am not at home in Georgia, but I am in Alexandria, Virginia. Why am I hearing a gunshot? The next sound I heard was our third baseman, Trent Kelly, holler: ``He's got a gun. Run.''

At that moment, I started running up the first baseline. Many of my colleagues, as you heard, went into the dugout, but, as one of the veterans, immediately my training kicked in, and I thought: This is not a great place to go in case the shooter gets on the field. However, to get off the field would expose me longer, but I decided to head past the dugout and go out the gate.

As I am running, I see the ground erupting on each side of me, and I realized that the shooter was targeting me at that moment. As I reached the gate, I turned to go out of the field, and I heard the sound of a round hitting the fence post next to me.

Right outside the gate, about 20 feet outside the gate, is a wooden shed. My training started coming back to me: When you are under assault, seek concealment. Find the aggressor. If you have a means to fight back, fight back. If not, plan an escape route and get to safety.

Those things were running through my mind. I saw the shed. I went behind the shed, but I couldn't see where the shooter was because he was down the first baseline. I needed to get to where I could see the shooter.

As I rounded the corner of the shed where I am looking back down toward the backstop, that is when I saw one of their staff members, Matt Mika, walk around the other side of the shed, already covered in blood, and lay down next to the Capitol Police SUV.

At that moment, I realized: I can't escape now. I have a colleague who is down. I have to stay and help him.

I jumped up and started to run to him when Brian Kelly, another staff member who had gone around the side of the shed with me, hollered: ``Barry, get down. Get down.''

As I went down to my knees, I heard the sound of a bullet go right past my head and hit the shed next to me. I didn't realize it, but the shooter had come around the back of the backstop and had targeted where I was and Brian Kelly.

As I went down, I saw David Bailey and Crystal Griner come around the back of the SUV, both of them trying to engage with the shooter. Within a couple of moments, the shooter came around the backstop, was next to a concrete building, and started shooting underneath the SUV. One of the rounds hit Crystal Griner in the ankle, and I saw her immediately go down.

David Bailey then would walk out and expose himself so the shooter would turn and start targeting him to give us an opportunity to hopefully get to Matt Mika and Crystal Griner. However, every time we would start to try to move up to help them, he would turn and start shooting back at us again. What seemed like an eternity, the gunfire was going over and over again. Bullets would run the ground right next to us, but we stayed there. Brian Kelly and I stayed there because I wasn't going to leave Matt alone.

Finally, I saw David Bailey's pants flutter, and he started to limp, and I realized he had just taken a round in the leg. As we found out later, he had actually taken some shrapnel where a bullet ricocheted off of a car's wheel.

I realized that, if David Bailey goes down, the shooter is coming directly to us. Within a few moments, we heard another distinct sound of a different type of firearm. The Alexandria Police had arrived, but, as I stood there and I looked, David Bailey fully exposed himself as the shooter came around the other side of this concrete building and was standing there shooting at David Bailey as he was returning fire saying: ``Drop the weapon. Drop the weapon. Drop the weapon.''

It was about that moment the Alexandria Police then took down the shooter.

My immediate reaction was to go to Matt Mika and help him. With a gaping hole in his chest, I thought I could do more damage than good trying to put pressure on it, but I knew one thing I could do: I could pray for him. I laid my hands on Matt, and we prayed. I don't remember what I said that day.

Then I realized the SUV has to have a medical kit in it, so I asked Crystal Griner: ``Do you have a medical bag?''

She said: ``Yes. It's in the back.''

I got up, and I ran around. By the time I pulled the medical bag out, I was astonished. When I came back around the SUV, the paramedics were already there with Matt Mika. I was surprised they were there that fast.

I didn't realize Steve Scalise had been shot at that moment, but I looked, and there was a crowd gathered out on the field, and someone told me he was there.

I ran out to the field, and I dropped the bag off to Brad and the others who were on the field. I looked, and I don't know how he got there, but David Bailey was there checking on Steve Scalise. He still didn't realize he had been hit in the leg, and he was trying to walk off the field by himself, so I helped David walk off the field. That was one of the most memorable moments.

As others have said, if it had not been for the heroism of David Bailey and Crystal Griner, we would not be here today. If it wasn't for the brotherhood and the camaraderie of all of us supporting each other, things would be a lot different here today, as well.

I think it is interesting that we are discussing this just a few days after the 80th anniversary of D-day. My father was a medic in World War II, and he landed at D-day. One of the things that he used to tell me as child was: ``Friends who share a foxhole are brothers for life.''

There is a bond between all of us here that cannot be broken and cannot be shaken. Did that day change me? Yes. I had the choice to let it negatively affect me or to positively affect my future. I chose the positive. Look for the positive. Make positive change.

I believe that we have done that. We are stronger because of it. I think we are wiser for it, but we are also more dedicated to one another to see each other through these things. Regardless of when some of us leave this great institution, we will never spiritually leave one another.

God bless all of you and thank you.

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