[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 150 (Thursday, December 7, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H12034-H12036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COMMENDING SOUTH DAKOTA'S WILL MERCHEN AND JOSH HEUPEL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 1999, the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the well of the House today to pay 
special tribute and recognition to two incredible South Dakotans.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with you and my colleagues the 
stories of two great young men from my great State. Both men have very 
different lives; but their actions, leadership and talents are far 
reaching, and I would like all of us to recognize them today.
  First, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with the body the story, 
the amazing story, about a young man from Aberdeen, South Dakota. Josh 
Heupel is the son of Ken and Cindy Heupel. Josh attends Oklahoma 
University in Norman, Oklahoma. This is the home district of my friend 
and colleague, our conference cochair, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Watts). I point this out because I believe that the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Watts) and I share the same appreciation for the type of 
person that Josh Heupel is.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, Josh Heupel is not your ordinary student. From 
age 4, he has been submerged in the world of

[[Page H12035]]

football. He would go with his father, Ken, then assistant coach at 
Aberdeen's Northern State University, to watch hours of football game 
film with other coaches.
  After playing football in high school, Josh considered himself lucky 
to play for Weber State in Ogden, Utah. There he red-shirted in 1996 
and suffered a knee injury in 1997. He threw himself into two-a-day 
workouts, hoping to win the starting spot at Weaver, but injured 
himself again.
  Josh moved on to Snow Junior College in Ephraim, Utah, where he 
shared the starting quarterback position with the leading juco passer 
in the Nation. In just 10 first halves that season, Josh completed 153 
of 258 passes for 2,308 yards and 28 touchdowns. That was more than 
good enough for the University of Oklahoma. They took on Josh Heupel. 
And today, as leading quarterback, Heupel, or ``Hype'' as his teammates 
call him, Josh has led Oklahoma to a 12 and 0 record and a trip to the 
Orange Bowl for the national championship showdown. He has completed 
280 of 433 passes for 3,392 yards and 20 touchdowns. He has at least 
one touchdown pass in all 24 of his career games at Oklahoma, and has 
passed for more than 300 yards in 14 of them.
  He has already been named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, 
the Walter Camp Player of the Year, and the Sporting News College 
Football Player of the Year, and today he was named the Associated 
Press College Player of the Year.
  Today, he and his mom, Cindy, his dad, Ken, and his sister, Andrea, 
spend the day at ceremonies. Josh is in the running for the Maxwell 
Award, which goes to the best player in college football, and the Davey 
O'Brien National Quarterback Award.
  It is not surprising that Josh Heupel is one of the four finalists 
for the naming of the best quarterback in the country. This Saturday, 
Heupel will be accompanied by his family and will be awaiting the 
announcement of the next Heisman Trophy winner. He is the only South 
Dakotan ever to be considered and nominated for such a prestigious 
award.
  His coach, Bob Stoops, calls him ``the factor'' for Oklahoma's number 
one ranking, and ``the heart of the team.'' Others say he is the 
biggest reason that the Sooners are going to the Orange Bowl for a shot 
at the national championship against Florida State.
  But I want you to listen, Mr. Speaker, to what his mom, Cindy, says. 
``These individual awards are very prestigious, but if you know Josh, 
they're not what matters. The opportunity to play for the national 
title is what really matters. You've got to know Josh. He is for real. 
The team goals are what he wants.'' She goes on to say that Josh will 
pass the credit for his awards to his coaches and teammates, that the 
awards are team awards.
  But there is more to Josh Heupel than just football. Josh is a good 
student at the University of Oklahoma. He attends Bible study twice a 
week with his sister, Andrea, a freshman at the university. Josh has 
dedicated himself to civic duty. He makes visits to sick children. And 
just last year, Josh came up with an idea to help area families in 
Norman, Oklahoma, with a food drive. In the second year, they received 
more than 1,500 pounds of food and more than $5,000, all spearheaded by 
Josh Heupel.
  A representative from the University of Oklahoma told my office that 
one of the things that most impressed him about Josh was that on Media 
Day, Josh Heupel stayed until every child and fan who wanted one got 
his autograph.
  I think that his talent and skill on the football field cannot 
overshadow this young man's character. Josh Heupel is an outstanding 
young man who is humble and deeply committed to his faith.
  Of course, Mr. Speaker, everyone from South Dakota, and I believe 
from Oklahoma as well, will be rooting for Josh Heupel on Saturday as 
the last votes for the Heisman Trophy are counted. But in my book, the 
score is already final. Josh Heupel has won our hearts and our hopes. 
He does not need a Heisman Trophy to prove it. Josh Heupel's mom was 
right, Josh really is the real thing. And for that, I wish him, his 
family and his team the very best.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to commend this afternoon another 
inspiring South Dakotan. I would like to recognize a 20-year-old man by 
the name of Will Merchen of Rapid City, South Dakota.
  Will graduated from Rapid City Central High School in 1999, married 
his high school sweetheart, Bethany, and started a family. But Will was 
always stirred by a sense of adventure. He earned the highest position 
of Eagle Scout, and it was not a surprise to his parents when he 
thought about joining the United States Navy. In January 1999, Will 
raised his right hand and made a decision that would change his life 
dramatically.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, 20-year-old Will Merchen was assigned as a 
damage controlman third class aboard the U.S.S. Cole. We have all seen 
the pictures of the 40-by-40-foot gaping hole in the hull of the U.S.S. 
Cole after the apparent terrorist attack on October 12. We have all 
seen the grief on the faces of the wounded sailors and their families. 
But in all this tragedy, I would like to tell you a story about a brave 
young soul who made it his duty to make sure that all the wounded were 
rescued and that the ship was saved. This, Mr. Speaker, is Will 
Merchen's story.
  As the number one nozzle man, Will was a specialist at putting out 
fires and stopping flooding at sea. But he never dreamed that his 
skills and knowledge would be tested just 3 months into his first 6-
month cruise on a destroyer.
  Will was in a compartment 15 feet from the site of the explosion. 
After being thrown to the floor, Will and his crewmates raced to 
retrieve their emergency equipment and began looking for others. Donned 
in scuba gear, gloves and fire helmets with headlamps, the three damage 
controlmen worked their way toward the site.
  Amidst the screams, the men helped friends and officers, many of them 
wounded, to safety. They could not save a senior chief, who spent his 
last seconds alive with the men. Will and his team used the Jaws of 
Life to cut half a dozen wounded sailors from wreckage and debris. Then 
they began the task of removing bodies of their shipmates. In his words 
Will said, ``We called it search and rescue, but that was optimistic. 
Everyone knows what we were doing. I will never, ever, forget.''
  Will himself lost three very close friends in that tragedy.
  But Will and his team's job was not yet finished. They still needed 
to stabilize the ship from the rushing waters. Will Merchen and damage 
controlmen worked for 48 hours straight after the blast to empty 
flooded compartments and save their shipmates. In the end, 17 sailors 
died, more than three dozen injured, but because Will Merchen survived, 
many of his shipmates are alive today.
  Retired General William W. Crouch, a member of the special commission 
investigating the attack on the Cole, said this of the damage control 
teams: ``It was an inspired performance and one which every American 
should be proud of. Those sailors saved themselves, their shipmates, 
they saved the U.S.S. Cole.'' That is exactly what Will Merchen did. 
This young man went beyond the call of duty.
  Mr. Speaker, when Will took some well-deserved time off with his wife 
Bethany, their 17-month-old daughter, Ellen, his parents, Bill and 
Betty, and his brother, Scott, in Black Hawk, South Dakota, he shared 
this with a local reporter: ``I joined the Navy because my father was a 
first class petty officer on board the U.S.S. Seattle. The Navy helped 
him become a great man, and I hope the same for myself. I am proud of 
the core values, honor, courage and commitment which the Navy has 
taught me, and I plan to apply them to all aspects of my life.''
  Mr. Speaker, I draw attention today to Will Merchen and to his 
colleagues on that ship, and perhaps particularly fitting on this 
anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as our country remembers, 
recognizes, the great sacrifice that is made by these young men and 
women on a daily basis to keep America safe and strong and secure.
  Will Merchen, you already have demonstrated the values of honor, 
courage and commitment in your life; and for that, many of your 
crewmates and their families and our country can be

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grateful. We are honored to have you continue in serving our great 
country in the United States Navy.
  Mr. Speaker, Will Merchen and Josh Heupel are young men that have 
already accomplished much, and they have very promising futures ahead 
of them; and they are an example of the type of character, the type of 
values, the type of principled commitment to action that I believe is 
reflective and represented in my great State of South Dakota. For these 
young men's efforts in their particular fields, I am particularly 
grateful and proud; and I know that South Dakota is very, very proud as 
well.

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