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Texas Rep. Sam Johnson -- one member that colleagues of both parties routinely refer to as “ a hero” and “great American” -- was honored October 10 for being precisely that by a group of the most honored Americans of all. Johnson, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot during the Vietnam War who was a prisoner of war for seven years, received the coveted National Patriot Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The award is a medallion that is awarded annually, according to its sponsors, “to distinguished Americans who exemplify the ideals that make our country strong. Their...

www.samjohnson.house.govJohnsonContact: McCall Avery 202-225-4201 Keep suspected terrorists out of America by Congressman Sam Johnson Washington, May 22 - Two days after taking the oath of office, President Obama signed an executive order closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in one year.  His recent speech sparked more questions than answers.  I have grave concerns about shutting down the prison without a future plan for where these jihadists will go.  I believe this could directly threaten the security of the American people.  The shroud of secrecy and lack of information four months after this announcement are big red warning flags in my...

www.samjohnson.house.gov Johnson Contact: McCall Cameron (202) 225-4201 Sam Johnson, former POW: “The pain inflicted by your country’s indifference is tenfold that inflicted by your ruthless captors” Washington, Feb 16 - Today U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (3rd Dist.-Texas) delivered the following closing statement on the floor of the House during the 36-hour debate on Iraq. A 29-year Air Force veteran, Johnson served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Johnson spent nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War, more than half of that time in solitary confinement. Coincidentally, this week in 1973 as one of the longest held captives, Johnson...

-- About 10 days after being shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese in April 1966, Sam Johnson's captors blindfolded him, put him on trial, accused him of being a criminal and sentenced him to death. They marched him out into the woods and put him in front of a five-man firing squad. As he prayed harder than he ever had before in his life, Johnson said, the North Vietnamese officer told the firing squad to shoot. "They all went Click! Click! Chick! Click! Click!" said Johnson, now a congressman from Texas. He was the keynote speaker at the...

Amid cheers, whistles and two standing ovations, U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) took fellow Congressman John Murtha (D-Pa.) and the U.S. media behind the proverbial woodshed for a verbal walloping. "Most of you know, at the end of last year, a liberal congressman from Pennsylvania insisted we immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq," Johnson told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. "When I heard this, it made my blood boil." Johnson was referring to Murtha, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, who has been quoted as saying that the U.S. Army is "broken, worn out" and may not be able...

Sen. John McCain claimed Wednesday that the U.S. is still torturing terrorist detainees, even as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits with European leaders to assure them that the practice is banned under U.S. law. "We've got to stop this torture," McCain told radio host Don Imus. "If you torture somebody, they're going to tell you what they think you want to know in order to make the pain stop," he complained. The Republican maverick said the U.S. can't win the propaganda war "if people believe throughout the world that you are practicing cruel, inhuman, degrading mistreatment or torture on...

Two highly decorated veterans who were held captive together in a Vietnamese prison camp more than three decades ago find themselves nose to nose today over U.S. policy on torture. In a draft letter circulated to some rank-and-file Republican colleagues but not sent, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) asks the top House defense appropriators to exclude from a defense-spending conference report the anti-torture provision added to the Senate version of the bill by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). The McCain amendment would limit American interrogators to techniques prescribed by the Army Field Manual and prohibit “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”...

Iraq War: Rep. Sam Johnson is a decorated war veteran too, one who spent seven years in a Hanoi prison. Why has nobody heard of him or his opinion on the war? Johnson represents the 3rd District in Texas. He served in the Air Force for 29 years, flying combat missions in the Korean and Vietnam wars. If you haven't seen him on the Sunday talk shows or the nightly news, there is a reason. He is a Republican and he supports the liberation of Iraq. In an op-ed for Human Events Online, Johnson asked the same question Vice President...

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, in a few minutes we are going to send a message to our troops. And for our last speaker, we have a gentleman who knows a lot about freedom. He knows a lot about a lack of freedom. He knows a lot about American resolve and sometimes the lack of American resolve. He has been awarded two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star with valor, two Purple Hearts, four air medals and three outstanding unit awards. He is one of our real heroes, Sam Johnson of Texas. Mr. SAM...

Turns out there is a Republican response to the Democrat letter that media favorite Max Cleland toted to Texas today. Here's the text: August 25, 2004 Senator John Kerry 304 Russell Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Kerry, We are pleased to welcome your campaign representatives to Texas today. We honor all our veterans, all whom have worn the uniform and served our country. We also honor the military and National Guard troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. We are very proud of all of them and believe they deserve our full support. That’s why so many...

JOHN KERRY DOES NOT BELONG IN THE WHITE HOUSE -- (House of Representatives - April 22, 2004) [Page: H2297] GPO's PDF --- (Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on this day in 1971, JOHN KERRY showed his true colors; and they are not red, white, and blue. Before the Senate, before America, and before the world, he blasted our Nation, chastised our troops, and hurt our morale. He famously declared that soldiers tortured innocent Vietnamese...

John Kerry was denounced as "Hanoi John" in the US House of Representatives on Thursday as Republicans attacked the Democratic presidential candidate's record as an outspoken foe of the Vietnam War. One by one, several Republicans, many of them Vietnam veterans, stood and challenged Kerry's patriotism. They did so in marking the 33rd anniversary of Kerry's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. "On this day in 1971, John Kerry showed his true colours, and they are not red, white and blue," said Rep. Sam Johnson, a Texas Republican. "Before...