[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1920-E1921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE HEROISM OF STANTON THOMPSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 6, 1998

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to pay tribute 
to Higginsville, Missouri, resident, Rear Admiral Stanton Thompson 
(USNR), who recently put his life

[[Page E1921]]

on the line to save two Concordia, Missouri, boys' lives.
  Recently, Admiral Thompson made the difference between life and death 
for two Lafayette County 10-year-old boys during a driving rain storm. 
Cameron Holsten and Gregory Kueck were playing in a ditch near downtown 
Concordia, with Cameron's twin brother, Kendall, when they were swept 
into a storm sewer by floodwaters. Working at a nearby drive-in 
restaurant, Thompson had no idea he was about to risk his life to save 
two others.
  Shortly after 5:30 p.m. on a Sunday evening, word came that the young 
boys were trapped in the raging waters in the storm drain below the 
restaurant. Without a second's thought, Thompson sprang into action and 
headed for the drain. He waded into the waist-deep pool in front of the 
drain gate, but was eventually forced to jump into the fast moving 
current.
  Thompson located the boys approximately 50 to 75 feet inside the 
tunnel. While their feet and legs dangled in the current, the boys hung 
on to small, wire-like rebar strap protruding from the wall of the 
tunnel. Thompson then made the decision to assist these young boys, and 
with the help of Concordia fire and rescue teams, he successfully 
brought Cameron and Gregory to safety one at a time.
  Mr. Speaker, Rear Admiral Stanton Thompson (USNR) is a true hero. I 
am sure that the members of the House will join me in paying tribute to 
this outstanding American who risked his life to save two young 
Missourians from drowning.

                          ____________________