[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1744-E1745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO ARMY MAJOR DWAYNE WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SPENCER BACHUS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 26, 2001

  Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, the tragedy that has befallen our nation is 
unspeakable. Thousands of lives tragically cut short, right here in our 
homeland. For each of those lost lives, thousands more are left 
behind--family, friends, colleagues--suffering and trying to cope.
  One of those families is the Williams family. Army Major Dwayne 
Williams, originally from Jacksonville, Alabama, was killed as he 
performed his duty to his country at the Pentagon on September 11, 
2001. Although I never had the honor of meeting Major Williams, I have 
come to know him through a heartfelt newspaper column written by one of 
his brothers, Birmingham News staff writer Roy L. Williams. With 
unanimous consent, I ask that this column be re-printed in the Record 
after my statement.
  Mr. Speaker, Major Williams was unquestionably a noble patriot, an 
honorable son and a much beloved husband, father and brother. His life 
was robbed from him, and from us, because he was a living symbol of 
American greatness. Major Williams was not taken from us so tragically 
because he, as an individual, was hated, but because he represented our 
country's strength, determination and honor. We owe Major Dwayne 
Williams for paying our price for freedom. We must forever honor his 
memory and keep his family in our thoughts and prayers.
  God bless Army Major Dwayne Williams. God bless his family, and God 
bless America.

                      [From the Birmingham News:]

       Terrorist Attack Can't Destroy Spirit, Faith of Our Family

                          (By Roy L. Williams)

       Like millions of Americans, I was in a state of disbelief 
     watching televised images Sept. 11 of airplanes striking the 
     World Trade Center.
       My heart sank as I thought of the pain and anguish 
     relatives of those killed or missing must be experiencing.
       Never did I imagine that my own family would be going 
     through that same emotional turmoil less than an hour later 
     when another jet struck the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., 
     where my oldest brother, Army Maj. Dwayne Williams, worked.
       I was sitting at my desk watching scenes of the World Trade 
     Center towers on fire when I received a frantic phone call 
     from my mother, Pearl Williams. She told me a plane had just 
     struck the Pentagon and expressed worry about Dwayne.
       I told her she was mistaken; the planes struck the World 
     Trade Center, not the Pentagon, and assured her Dwayne was 
     OK. After hanging up the phone, I looked up at the first 
     televised images of the plane crash at the Pentagon.
       I immediately called my mother and informed her I would 
     check on Dwayne's status. The next few hours were mired by 
     frustration as phone calls to Dwayne's office in the Pentagon 
     and home wouldn't go through.
       I finally reached Dwayne's home around noon and left a 
     voice message for his wife, Tammy, to call me with word that 
     my brother was OK. At 2 p.m., five hours after the Pentagon 
     attack, I reached Tammy's mother and was told that she had 
     spoken to her daughter, who was worried sick because Dwayne 
     had not called.
       That was unlike Dwayne: He would have called his wife and 
     children.


                         worst fears confirmed

       Shortly before midnight with still no word from Dwayne, I 
     couldn't sleep and turned on the television for the latest 
     news on the Pentagon. What I heard confirmed my worst fears: 
     The jet had struck a section housing Army offices where 
     Dwayne worked.
       The next morning, I reported to work but wasn't able to 
     concentrate. Tears flowed as I imagined the horrors my 
     brother and other victims in the Pentagon and World Trade 
     Center experienced.
       The Army and Pentagon had my brother listed as missing and 
     feared dead. Nine days went by with no official word on 
     Dwayne's fate, and our pain got agonizing worse as time went 
     by.
       On Friday, Sept. 21, 10 days after the Pentagon attack, the 
     news I had dreaded finally arrived: Dwayne had been declared 
     dead.
       The bad news came around 1:45 p.m. with a call from my 
     sobbing mother: ``It's official: Dwayne's been identified as 
     among the dead,'' she said.
       He had apparently been among the 150 unidentified dead 
     victims lying at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
       I didn't want to belief it, and hours later remain in a 
     state of disbelief.
       Yet at the same time, I'm glad the waiting is over and the 
     Williams family can move on in our grief.
       I will never be able to fully accept the fact that my 
     brother's life was taken in such a despicable manner, but I 
     am at peace in knowing that Dwayne was a Christian and is at 
     home with the Lord.
       In my mind, I see God's angels descending upon the Pentagon 
     and snatching Dwayne and the other innocent victims from the 
     building just as the plane hit, carrying them home to that 
     peaceful place we all want to go: heaven.
       The hardest part about this whole ordeal was the wait. We 
     wanted closure by receiving word that Dwayne has been found. 
     Our prayer was that he would be found alive amidst the 
     rubble.
       Though chances of survival were slim, my family never gave 
     up hope until receiving the final word of
       I've gone through a wave of emotions--anger and bitterness 
     toward the terrorists; sadness and sorrow; disbelief and 
     shock; denial and an unwillingness to accept the fact that 
     Dwayne is dead.
       But closure now allows the family to move into the grief 
     process.


                              god's angels

       Although I constantly worry about the fate of my missing 
     brother, I am at peace in knowing Dwayne is a Christian and 
     that God's angels are protecting him. Much of the grief my 
     wife, Patrice, and I are experiencing has been lessened by 
     the comforting words of my pastor, Jim Lowe of the Guiding 
     Light Church in Roebuck.
       For the past three months, Pastor Lowe has been preaching a 
     sermon series on how to cope with trouble and strife. I 
     didn't know those sermons would apply so deeply and 
     personally in my own life.
       I have a horrible aching pain in the pit of my stomach that 
     grows worse day by day. Leaning on the Lord is the only thing 
     that can sustain someone going through a traumatic event like 
     this. The prayers of the Guiding Light church family, 
     relatives and friends are enabling us to cope with this 
     tragedy.
       In this world that we live in, you are either going into a 
     personal storm, in the midst of a storm or coming out of one. 
     How you cope with the situation is determined by your faith 
     in God. We must learn to look beyond the circumstances of 
     this world to the powerful, comforting presence of God.
       Patrice and I are not only suffering anguish in the 
     possible loss of my brother, but also one of our best 
     friends. Dwayne served as my best man in our wedding 10 years 
     ago and we communicated with him and his wife, Tammy, almost 
     weekly either via e-mail or telephone.
       Patrice is expecting our second child in February and I am 
     trying my best to keep her calm, but she feels and shares my 
     pain. I thank God that our daughter, Naja, is just 2 and too 
     young to fully comprehend what is going on.
       I thank God, also, that Naja did get a chance to see her 
     Uncle Dwayne again this past June when his family stopped by 
     to visit us on the way to report to the Pentagon.
       Dwayne and I, along with our wives, vacationed together to 
     Cancun, Mexico, three years ago and while he was stationed in 
     Egypt in 1997, we viewed the awesome wonder of the Great 
     Pyramid and Sphinx together.
       Even though the terrorists attack killed Dwayne, we still 
     have comfort in knowing that God has called him home to 
     heaven. A terrorist attack may be able to destroy this 
     earthly body, but cannot destroy Dwayne's spirit, which is 
     alive and well in all of his family members and friends.

[[Page E1745]]

       What makes this so excruciatingly painful to cope with is 
     that Dwayne had just completed the Army Command and General 
     Staff College in Kansas and got the assignment to the 
     Pentagon just three months ago. It was to be the highlight of 
     his career. One would think the military headquarters 
     building would be the safest place in the world to serve.
       Dwayne served in the Persian Gulf War and spent two years 
     in Egypt, a scene of many terrorists'attacks, yet came home 
     unscathed. Then this happened.
       Dwayne is one of three of my brothers serving this great 
     country in the military: the others are Army Sgt. 1st Class 
     Kim Williams and my identical twin brother, Air Force Staff 
     Sgt. Troy L. Williams. In the back of


                         More than a statistic

       Let me paint a picture of Dwayne to show that my brother is 
     more than a statistic in this senseless tragedy that killed 
     and injured more than 5,000 innocent people.
       An 18-year Army veteran who got his start as a paratrooper 
     and ranger at Fort Benning, Ga., Dwayne served in the Persian 
     Gulf War in 1991 and is a highly decorated soldier.
       Dwayne is a loving husband to his wife, Tammy, and a 
     devoted father to a 13-year-old daughter, Kelsie, and 17-
     year-old son, Tyler.
       He is the beloved son of my parents, Horace and Pearl 
     Williams, of Jacksonville, AL.
       He is a protecting big brother to me and my other two 
     brothers.
       He is a star athlete, having lettered in high school 
     football and basketball, then later played for four years on 
     the University of North Alabama football team as a pass 
     receiver. An avid softball player, he helped lead his Army 
     team to victory in competition while in Egypt.
       He is a man of strong moral character, who rarely displayed 
     much emotion but is quick to express love in his own quiet 
     way. And he is a friend to many.
       To get a true picture of the horrible ordeal and anguish 
     this country has been going through during the past week, 
     simply multiply the devastation my family is experiencing by 
     6,000--the number of other victims either killed or still 
     missing in these attacks.
       It's a numbing, horrible feeling I pray that no other 
     family has to experience themselves. Please pray for all of 
     the victims of these terrible attacks. God bless America.

     

                          ____________________