Rep. Mike Rogers (R. Mich.) remarks before the May 24, 2011 House of Representatives Rules Committee Hearing on H.R. 1540
Mr. Rogers: Thank you Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity. I know you are talking about some very substantive and serious issues. This is serious, but may not rise to the same level. I think this is something we can all support.
Mr. Lobiondo and I have been working on this issue for years, and it is based on the military ethos that we leave no man behind. It is what has fueled the patriotism, commitment, and bravery and courage of our US military since its inception.
I had the privlege to stand near the graves of our U.S. sailors who gave their lives some 200 years ago in Libya. And they were not treated well. If you recall it was one of our first missions. They were sent to fight the Barbary Pirates in 1804, and they died on a very daring mission to destroy the pirate fleet.
They weren’t treated well. Their bodies were dragged in the street, dogs were allowed to feed on them, they were thrown in mass graves. We know where the graves are.
There has been some dispute as to whether the Navy believes they should be repatriated back home. Many, many people including the American Legion, myself and I believe everyone who has served in the military believes it is the right things to do.
And by the way, a comment on Richard Somers, from New Jersey, whose hometown is named after him, his lineage, his family wants his remains brought home so he can have a proper burial. If there are any questions, like we have soldiers who are on the beaches of Normandy, and those cemeteries are on US soil, and they were given proper burials, while the way these men were treated is not.
There is no need for more money, and they don’t have to do it until obviously the NATO operations make it safe to do that.
I think it is the right and proper thing to bring these folks home.
NAVY COMMANDOS TO RIDE DEFENSE BILL HOME AFTER 207 YEARS
Chairman Rogers' amendment to appropriations bill to clear path to repatriation
(WASHINGTON, DC) - Thirteen US Navy commandos buried in unmarked mass graves on the shore of Tripoli may finally return home. After 207 years of family effort to repatriate the remains of the naval heroes who died on a secret mission, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers may be paving their road home in the National Defense Authorization Act.
Today the House Rules Committee will decide whether Rogers' measure may be offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), expected to be debated and voted on the floor of the US House of Representatives this week.
"My father, my father's father, and his father's father have wanted the remains of Master Commandant Richard Somers returned home, and we've worked for it since he and the men of the USS Intrepid were lost in Libya in 1804," said Dean Somers of Somers Point, New Jersey. "This is long, long overdue, and it wasn't until we met recently with Rep. Frank Lobiondo and Chairman Rogers when we thought it was finally possible."
The City of Somers Point, named after the heroic Master Commandant's family and still their residence, has worked on repatriation for decades. Additionally, the descendants of renown American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wish for the return of the remains of his uncle, Lt. Henry Wadsworth, who served as second in command on the fire ship Intrepid when it was lost during the Barbary Wars. The legendary poet was named after his heroic uncle, as he was born just a few years after the failed mission.
The Somers family and Somers Point leaders - members of The Intrepid Project - traveled to Washington to meet with the Congressional leaders in April. While in the nation's capital, the delegation met with executives of the national American Legion. As a result, early this month the group passed a resolution to enable Legion support for repatriation of the Intrepid crew. The veterans service organization is now working closely with The Intrepid Project to assure passage of HR 1497 - a key alliance to the success of this effort.
"We strongly encourage members of the House Rules Committee to vote to attach the Rogers Amendment to the NDAA," Somers Point Mayor Jack Glasser said. "These men were the earliest Navy Seals, the forebears of the heroes who found and killed Osama bin Laden. Of course the family and our city wants these men brought home - but whenever it is possible, we must always repatriate the remains of heroes lost on secret missions defending our nation."
Somers and his crew were lost on an ill-fated mission to destroy Tripoli's naval fleet during the Barbary Wars of the early 19th century. When their bodies of America's first Navy commandos washed up on the beach in Tripoli, the bashaw - the king of the pirates - invited a pack of dogs to devour them as American prisoners of war looked on. These 13 naval heroes remain buried today, their remains jumbled together in two Libyan graves. One of those graves is unmarked and underfoot on Green Square, where Gadhafi has held his anti-America rallies for decades.
http://grasstopconcepts.com/e/8565/t.php?b=186&c=5&e=billkelly3@gmail.com&p=http://www.IntrepidProject.org
The Intrepid Project
12864 Biscayne Blvd, #332
North Miami, FL 33181
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 24, 2011
CONTACT: Michael R. Caputo
716-867-5554
From Rep. Mike Rogers:
I write to update you on my efforts to honor U.S. Navy sailors who perished in Tripoli, Libya over 200 years ago. I appreciate the opportunity to contact you.
This month I introduced H.R.1497, legislation to repatriate, identify and honor with a military funeral U.S. Navy sailors who perished in Tripoli, Libya over 200 years ago.
In September of 1804, American Sailors were killed in the explosion of the U.S. Ketch INTREPID in Tripoli Harbor. Thirteen U.S. Navy Sailors are buried in mass graves at two sites in Tripoli. Five Sailors are buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in a mass grave and eight U.S. Navy Sailors are buried in a mass grave near the Tripoli Castle.
These members were buried by members of the USS PHILADELPHIA, the very comrades-in-arms that the 13 men of the INTREPID were attempting to free from the Barbary pirates. For more than 200 years these war heroes have laid to rest in mass graves on foreign soil. Unlike other U.S. graves on foreign soil such as Normandy, these heroes received no military burial.
It is time to bring these American Sailors home and give them a proper military burial. I look forward to working in Congress to pass H.R.1497 and bring America’s Naval Heroes home.
Thank you for the opportunity to contact you. You can also follow my efforts on YouTube (RepMikeRogers) and Facebook (Mike J. Rogers). Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call on me.
Sincerely,
Mike J. Rogers
Honoring U.S. Sailors with a Proper Burial
E-MAIL | Wed, April 27, 2011 10:36:49 AM | Mike Rogers
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2711267/posts
I write to update you on my efforts to honor U.S. Navy sailors who perished in Tripoli, Libya over 200 years ago. I appreciate the opportunity to contact you.
This month I introduced H.R.1497, legislation to repatriate, identify and honor with a military funeral U.S. Navy sailors who perished in Tripoli, Libya over 200 years ago.
In September of 1804, American Sailors were killed in the explosion of the U.S. Ketch INTREPID in Tripoli Harbor. Thirteen U.S. Navy Sailors are buried in mass graves at two sites in Tripoli. Five Sailors are buried at the Old Protestant Cemetery in a mass grave and eight U.S. Navy Sailors are buried in a mass grave near the Tripoli Castle.
These members were buried by members of the USS PHILADELPHIA, the very comrades-in-arms that the 13 men of the INTREPID were attempting to free from the Barbary pirates. For more than 200 years these war heroes have laid to rest in mass graves on foreign soil. Unlike other U.S. graves on foreign soil such as Normandy, these heroes received no military burial.
It is time to bring these American Sailors home and give them a proper military burial. I look forward to working in Congress to pass H.R.1497 and bring America’s Naval Heroes home.
Thank you for the opportunity to contact you. You can also follow my efforts on YouTube (RepMikeRogers) and Facebook (Mike J. Rogers). Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call on me.
Sincerely,
Member of Congress
HOCHUL SUPPORTS REPATRIATION OF BATTLE OF TRIPOLI SOLDIERS
Posted by Fabien Levy
http://www.kathyhochul.com/2011/04/14/hochul-supports-repatriation-of-battle-of-tripoli-soldiers/
ERIE COUNTY – Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, today applauded Chairman Mike Rogers of the House Intelligence Committee for taking steps to exhume and transfer the remains of thirteen deceased members of the Armed Forces buried in Tripoli, Libya.
The crew of the USS Intrepid was killed on September 4, 1804 while engaged in a secret mission during the Battle of Tripoli. The thirteen men – all who bravely volunteered for this mission – remain buried today in two mass graves in Libya. One of those graves is unmarked and underfoot on a Tripoli plaza, where dictator Moammar Ghadafi has held anti-American rallies for decades.
“The families of the Intrepid crew have wanted their ancestors’ remains back for two centuries,” said Hochul. “I agree with Chairman Rogers that we must exhume and repatriate the remains of these unforgotten American heroes as quickly as possible and, once elected, will do all in my power to bring these brave men home.”
More information about Kathy Hochul can be found at www.KathyHochul.com.
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