A nation’s broken-hearted father spoke Saturday to this broken-hearted city and to the broken-hearted families of five servicemen who died here a month ago at the hands of what U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called a “perverted jihadist.”
The very eloquent and plain-spoken Biden moved easily between grief, tribute and stirring patriotism. What he didn’t do – in any sentence of his nearly 25-minute address – was mince words.
“Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Petty Officer Randall Smith and Lance Cpl. Squire Wells – these are the men made of the stuff that makes this country the greatest country on earth. They’re part of the less than 1 percent of the U.S. population that protects 99 percent of us. They are what makes us who we are. They are the backbone the virtual bone and sinew of this country. And in the face of dangers and threats, we look out for one another. We stand together. We never, never bow. We never, never bend. These perverse ideologues, warped theocrats, they may be able to inspire a single lone wolf to commit a savage act, but they can never, never threaten who we are.”
At times, seeming to focus his attention directly to the families, he said what only a man who has lost a spouse and children – including a son who died of cancer in May – can really say with meaning.