With the tragic passing of one of America's greatest heroes - former Congressman Sam Johnson of Texas @SamsPressShop - I thought I'd share a thread about him, my old boss @RepMikeRogers and what can be the surprising decency of the United States Congress.

Mike Rogers is a former Army officer, FBI agent and a Boy Scout through and through. When he got elected to Congress in 2000 (closest election in the country), he was drawn to those focused on service, the mission and doing their part to help the country. He was drawn to Sam.

Early on in his career, Mike read Sam's book called Captive Warriors. He polished it off over one weekend, came back to DC with his usual whirlwind of positivity and ideas but with a new request: every staff member should read Captive Warriors. What about interns? Yup, them too.

When the House of Reps was stuck voting or waiting for a deal to be cut, Mike would often sit next to Sam. He'd listen, laugh with and learn from Sam's unthinkable experience as a Vietnam POW.

The admiration for Sam wasn't just in the horror that he had endured - seven years as a POW in North Vietnam, including 42 months in solitary confinement - it was how he responded to those horrific circumstances. Sam refused to let that be the final chapter of his life.

One time Mike's chats with Sam got him in trouble politically & threw his staff off. Congress was voting to normalize trade with Vietnam. It was a top Republican priority and long-time goal for the business community. Fellow war hero Senator John McCain was even supporting it.

From the staff's perspective, it was an easy vote. Mike had never opposed a trade agreement-why would he start now? We told the House Whip staff he was a yes, we sent along a yes vote recommendation and were shocked to see Rogers was 1 of just a handful of Republicans to vote no.

As we sent off frantic emails and Blackberry PIN messages to the boss wondering what went wrong, was there a mistake? Mike finally let us know via four words: "Sam got to me." That was the end of that.

Later Mike decided that not enough Members really understood Sam's story so he decided to buy 435 copies of Sam's book with his own campaign funds and mailed a copy to every single Member of the United States House of Representatives.

The bipartisan interest that book generated was truly inspiring. Members from every walk of life began asking Sam about his story. More Members began sitting with and learning from Sam. Members were citing Sam more frequently in their prepared remarks.

And when Sam spoke on the House floor, you could hear a pin drop. Staffers actually turned up the volume on the TV to listen to what this American hero had to say and the grace and class with which he'd say it.

So if you're stuck at home looking for a good read, check out Captive Warriors. You'll be inspired that someone could come from the greatest depths of despair to the highest levels of power in the greatest country on earth.

God bless Sam Johnson. May you finally get to rest in peace. And if you ask nicely, maybe @repmikerogers will mail you a copy of the book.