Washington, DC – Below is Congressman William Jefferson’s floor statement on behalf of H. Res 944, which honors the contributions and the 37 years of service of Lieutenant General Russel Honore in the year of his retirement.

“I thank the gentleman from Georgia, Representative David Scott, for bringing this resolution to the floor today to honor Lt. General Russel L. Honore. While Lt. General Honore deserves to be honored for his service to our nation, and by the people of Georgia, for the experiences he has had and the connection with them, in truth he belongs at his roots, to the people of Louisiana.

Lt. General Russel Honore was born in Louisiana, in the rural parish of Pointe Coupee. I met him when he was a brash young ROTC cadet at the college we both attended, Southern University and A&M College, in 1971. In fact, we have often kidded that since I was a few years ahead of him at Southern, and his battalion commander there when he joined our ROTC, that I can take some real credit for his success as a soldier.

However that may be, Russel Honore showed the attributes back then that led to what can only be described as a legendary career in the U.S. Army. He was a serious student, an eager participant in everything the ROTC had to offer outside of the classroom, and had a big, courageous, fun-loving heart."