A long stretch of whistles and cheers broke out on the House floor when the morning roll call reached Rep. Joe Rice and he shouted, “Here!”
The Littleton Democrat returned to the House Monday after his third tour of duty in Iraq to find a giant “Welcome Home” banner signed by fellow lawmakers and a bouquet of yellow roses on his desk.
A lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, Rice was in Baghdad the past three months helping to improve police, education, health care and water services in Iraqi neighborhoods.
He said stability in the war-ravaged country is improving, but he believes the U.S. has months of work ahead to ensure it’s “sustainable.” Rice spent much of his time in the Green Zone but did traipse through neighborhoods in full “battle rattle.” His most dangerous days were during a Thanksgiving rocket attack and learning a route he had traveled held an improvised explosive device that hadn’t detonated.
Sen. Steve Ward, R-Littleton, also deployed to Iraq, is expected to return next week, when the Senate will turn off a lamp kept on in his honor.
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
