Late last year, Army Sergeant Robert Canine (KUH-NINE) was injured in Baghdad when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb. He lost both his legs.
When the Mexico, Missouri, native came home after serving so bravely, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri’s 9th District quietly showed up at Walter Reed to offer his encouragement to the wounded hero.
Sources tell us that there weren’t any press releases put out to announce the visit not was there a gaggle of staff in Sergeant Canine’s hospital room. It was just one proud American honoring one of our wounded warriors. Luetkemeyer never mentioned the visit during a recent event in Columbia where he spoke at an event in which Canine was benefitting from the Homes for our Troops non-profit that has started building him a home at no cost thanks to charitable donations. Sources also tell us that this isn’t just a one-time deal for Luetkemeyer. We hear that without fanfare, Luetkemeyer makes a habit of meeting regularly with our World War II heroes as part of the Honor Flight program, which allows the shrinking number of World War II veterans to visit their memorial in Washington D.C. We hear that Luetkemeyer has attended nearly every Honor Flight of veterans from his Central Missouri Congressional District.
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Blaine Luetkemeyer represents the 25 counties of the 9th District. He’s a native of St. Elizabeth where his family has lived for four generations. Along with this strong agriculture background, Luetkemeyer was also a small businessman, having been in the banking and insurance business.
From 1999 to 2005, Luetkemeyer was a Missouri State Representative. After leaving office, Luetkemeyer was appointed by Governor Blunt to serve as the Director of the Missouri Division of Tourism.
As a member of Congress, Luetkemeyer serves on the House Small Business Committee and is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and Trade.
Luetkemeyer also is a member of the House Agriculture Committee, where he serves on two subcommittees. Luetkemeyer also sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he serves on two subcommittees. Luetkemeyer and his wife Jackie have three grown children and one granddaughter.