{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-veterans-day-0", "Fort Report: Veterans Day", "2015-11-06", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Nothing in Johnny Bravos training had prepared him for what he saw that night. The American fighter pilot was on a mission high above the mountains and the clouds in Afghanistan. The moon was so bright, the blanket of clouds so thick, that he could not see the mountains below. He was struck by the serenity of the moonlight gleaming on the clouds.\nAll of a sudden sounds broke the quiet. His radio crackled, and he heard the word contact. Johnny Bravo knew what that meant. Special operations forces below him were in trouble.\nAlthough his aircraft was not equipped to navigate the mountainous terrain below, he decided to act. He pulled out an old Soviet air map to determine his exact location. Using his mathematical training, squaring the variables of speed, distance, and the time available for a strike, he made a decision. He plunged his aircraft straight down through the thick clouds.\nThe aircraft lurched back and forth, shaking violently. Finally, breaking through the clouds, Johnny Bravo found himself in a valley only hundreds of feet from the ground. It was a startling scene. Fire from both sides of steep cliffs poured down on one spot where his fellow troops were trapped. Instantly, Johnny Bravo trained his weapons on the sources of fire, counting out loud, One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, pulling up before slamming into the side of a mountain.\nHe circled upward and then punched down through the clouds into the valley again. With fire still raining down onto his troops, he continued to unload his weapons on the enemy positions. He did it again, counting all the while, One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand.\nAfter emptying his ammunition, he said to his wingman, Now you go. His wingman said, I dont think I can do it. Johnny Bravo replied, Then follow me.\nTheir planes, literally feet apart, both dove through the clouds. His wingman began firing as Johnny Bravo once more counted out, repeating the maneuver time and again until his wingman ran out of ammunition.\nThat night every man came back alive.\nWhen Johnny Bravo returned to base, he was asked why he took such a risk. Duty did not compel him to act in such a heroic manner. He simply replied, They would have done the same for me.*\nThis morning I had the privilege of honoring 40 of Nebraskas veterans in front of 300 students at Lux Middle School in Lincoln. The young people prepared a beautiful ceremony with an honor guard, the school band, and the D'Lux Singers. Ninety-two-year-old World War II veteran Vi Berst was in attendance; on D-Day, he hit Omaha Beach at 7 a.m. I told the young students, These men and womenthey did it for you.\nIt is this spirit of selflessness that lives on in so many of our veteransand the military men and women who are serving our nation today. They gave and continue to givefor one simple reason: it is necessary and it is their duty. Veterans Day is a reminder of the shared sacrifices that are needed to keep what we value. And it is a reminder to thank the men and women who keep our country safe, who keep our country strong.\n\n*I am recounting the story of Johnny Bravo as told to me by Simon Sinek. He is the author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Action.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-veterans-day-0"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8916188962757587, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}