Chattanooga Times Free Press
We rightly honor our brave men and women in the various branches of the U.S. military.
We highly esteem people who serve as police officers, sheriff’s deputies, members of the Highway Patrol, and FBI agents.
And we solemnly honor firefighters and other emergency workers who risk and sometimes lose their lives to help others.
But we may not often reflect on the bravery of U.S. agents who work along the Mexican border to stop illegal aliens and to fight drug trafficking.
Well, recently one of our Border Patrol agents paid the ultimate price. Brian A. Terry was with three of his fellow agents when a gunfight erupted with bandits along the border. He was killed in the shooting.
Several suspects have been arrested in connection with his death. Sadly, however, brutal attacks on our Border Patrol agents are all too common.
That violence cannot be halted completely, but Congress should honor our border agents’ noble efforts by providing them what they need to carry out their difficult task of halting those who try to cross our nation’s borders illegally.
And we should gratefully acknowledge the sacrifices made by those agents on a daily basis.
Copyright 2010 Chattanooga Publishing Company