House Minority Whip Steve Scalise paid fitting tribute Wednesday to a person without whose courage he and perhaps numerous other representatives and staffers probably would have died two years ago this Friday.

Scalise and several others were shot by a left-wing terrorist on June 14, 2017 while practicing for the annual congressional charity baseball game. Scalise came within minutes of dying from his serious internal injuries, and he underwent numerous surgeries and painful rehabilitation afterwards. By all accounts, the gunman was only stopped from getting even more shots off at the Republican congressmen by the quick action of two members of Scalise’s security detail, Crystal Griner and David Bailey. Both of them were injured in an ensuing gun battle.