Rep. Tim Burchett, while recognizing the sacrifices made by America's veterans, Sunday on Newsmax recalled helping a veteran in return by performing the Heimlich maneuver during a Veterans Day dinner, and called on Americans to honor veterans every day, not just one day a year in November.
"He started coughing and then he stood up, and I could see his windpipe was clogged, and I ran around him and did the Heimlich maneuver," the Tennessee Republican recalled. "He made a big deal of it and said I'd saved his life, but it was an honor to… maybe save a veteran's life. It was pretty cool."
The event happened at a 2021 dinner in Knox County, Tennessee, and at the time, the U.S. Army veteran, Bobby Barnes, told local ABC affiliate WATE that he believes Burchett saved his life.
Burchett was in attendance Saturday in Knoxville while 101-year-old World War II veteran Milton Jones was presented with the Congressional record that was submitted in his name. Jones served in World War II on the USS Indiana and worked on the Manhattan Project from 1944-1945.
"Having somebody 101 years old, that guy was just as spry as anything," said Burchett. "He was cutting up. They said somebody called him the other day and he was working on his log splitter, putting a new motor in. East Tennessee, we love our veterans. I was just pleased that I was asked to join them."
Burchett noted that his father fought with the Marine Corps during World War II in the Pacific and his mother "actually flew an airplane" during the war, and that she had lost a brother who was fighting.
The congressman noted that to him, Veterans Day is a time to honor the sacrifices that were made, but at the same time, "we're throwing everything away in this country, every ounce of freedom."
"These folks fought for things, like my uncle died, for us to be able to sit on our butts on Election Day and sit around and watch 'The View' or something," Burchett said. "So I'm always a little taken aback [when] we don't honor our veterans. But as I like to say, what are you doing for them every day, not just on their day?"
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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