CHATTANOOGA:

Led by Tenn. representative

Shootings put spotlight on low-key Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann was between votes on the House floor when Rep. David Young of Iowa rushed over and told him something horrible had happened in Chattanooga.

Fleischmann ran to the nearby speaker’s lobby in a panic and began making calls. Back in southeast Tennessee, the tragedy was still unfolding and the details were sketchy, but Fleischmann was able to confirm that one or more people had been shot at one or more military sites across the city.

He raced back to the House floor, told his colleagues what he knew and made plans to return home immediately.

“It was just a very sad day,” he said, recalling the profound sickness he felt at the news. “I hope I never feel that way again.”

Nearly three weeks after the shootings in which five military service members were killed by a lone gunman, the events of July 16 and the days that followed are a bit of a blur for the Ooltewah congressman, whose district includes Chattanooga and the surrounding area.

He does remember running through the airport in Washington and falling down an escalator in his rush to catch the plane back to Tennessee. He also remembers pulling up in front of the military recruitment center that was the scene of one of the attacks and noticing that the windows were riddled with bullet holes.

In his 4½ years in Congress, the 52-year-old Republican lawmaker has been a low-key, drama-free presence and has never been known as someone to seek the spotlight, making him a rarity in Washington. But the horrific shootings in his home district propelled him onto the national stage in a way that he never envisioned and never wanted.

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC wanted interviews. He granted those requests and too many others to count.

Because the scene of the tragedy was in his district, reporters wanted to know anything he could tell them about the shootings, the area and its people. He wanted the world to know about the five men — four Marines and one sailor — who had been gunned down and about how the

community was pulling together.

“We came together very quickly and worked day after day and are still working on this,” he said of his friends, neighbors and constituents.

Back in Washington the following Tuesday, Fleischmann approached House leaders about observing a moment of silence in honor of the five victims. The leadership quickly agreed, so as the chamber was winding up its business for the day, Fleischmann went again to the floor, spoke briefly about the tragedy and, with the other eight Tennesseans in the House by his side, led the chamber in the observance.

“I did not have set remarks,” Fleischmann said. “I spoke from my heart. It was something I wanted to do to make sure that we could in some way honor and dignify the sacrifice these five brave men made.”

Leading the observance “was extremely difficult to do,” he said. “I don’t mind telling you that when we finished the floor speech and I went back to my office, I had blurred vision. I was still ill. And I’m still ill over this.”

After the observance ended, many of his colleagues — brothers and sisters of the House, as he calls them — approached him to offer their condolences and urged him to do something else as soon as possible to honor the five victims.

Last week, he filed legislation to award all five the Purple Heart, a military decoration given to service members wounded in combat or awarded posthumously to the next of kin of those killed in action. The bipartisan bill has 75 co-sponsors, and Fleischmann hopes it will get a vote when Congress returns from its summer break in September.

Fleischmann said he has been deeply touched by the support he has been shown by his House colleagues — Republicans and Democrats alike — since the shootings.

“The five service members who died tragically at the hands of this person who committed this heinous act have been honored and dignified and will be forever cherished by our Chattanooga community,” he said. “Now I know, after having seen the support of my brothers and sisters in the House, they will be honored and cherished forever in America.”

Having seen the support of my brothers and sisters in the House, (the service members who were killed) will be honored and cherished forever in America.”

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, whose district includes Chattanooga