[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 36 (Monday, February 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     TRIBUTE TO JUSTIN AARON HARRIS

                                 ______


                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 27, 1995
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay respectful tribute to a 
young man from my district who has made the ultimate sacrifice, giving 
his life in service to our country in a foreign land. Justin Aaron 
Harris, a Marine Sergeant, was tragically killed last week when his 
helicopter went down at sea after hitting a ship off the coast of 
Mogadishu. He died on February 19, 1995, leaving a wife, Chantay, and a 
young son, Justin, Jr., his parents, Peggy and Joe, a sister, Julie 
Morrison, brothers, Joe, Jeffrey, Jerry, and Javan Harris and scores of 
relatives and friends who mourn the loss of a promise-filled life cut 
short. We offer them our hearts in empathy as they face this deep 
tragedy. We hope that his vision for America and his devotion and 
belief in service to our nation and oppressed people around the world 
will make this cross a little easier to bear. We pray the memories his 
family and friends shared in his too-brief life will sustain them all. 
Justin knows as we all know, the price of freedom is not free. He laid 
down his life in service to us.
  A poem was read at his memorial service, held in his hometown of 
Toledo, Ohio on February 25, 1995. The author apparently unknown, it 
symbolizes Justin's and his family's faith and offers a meaning to his 
passing, helping all to understand and to gain strength:
                                I'm Free

     Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free
     I'm following the path God laid for me.
     I took his hand when I heard Him call
     I turned my back, and left it all.
     I could not stay another day
     To laugh, or love, or work, or play
     Tasks left undone must stay that way
     I found that place at the close of the day.
     If my parting has left a void,
     Then fill it with remembered joy.
     A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss
     Oh yes, these things I too will miss.
     Be not burdened with times of sorrow
     I wish you sunshine of tomorrow.
     My life's been full, I savored much
     Good friends, good times, a loved one's touch.
     Perhaps my time seemed all too brief.
     Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
     Lift up your heart and share with me . . .
     God wanted me now
     He set me Free!

  Justin Aaron Harris, age 23; always remembered, always honored, 
always loved.


                          ____________________