[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 132 (Thursday, October 4, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10284-S10285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ALASKAN SMOKEJUMPER: MR. DAVID LISTON

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, life as a smokejumper is not 
glamorous

[[Page S10285]]

with huge financial benefits or personal recognition. Smokejumping is a 
dangerous job undertaken by those with a strong spirit who simply love 
what they do fighting forest fires.
  My home state of Alaska, and the states of many of my colleagues, 
have been struck by the wrath of forest fires. We often forget the men 
and women who bravely enter the ring of fire to battle the often times 
insurmountable flames. These courageous firefighters, known in the 
industry as smokejumpers, parachute out from DC-3 airplanes as they fly 
low over acres of intense smoke and flames shooting up from the forest 
canopy. On top of the physical and emotional danger related to 
smokejumping, work-related injuries such as broken bones, burns and 
chainsaw gashes are common but occasionally smokejumping claims the 
life of one of its own.
  Twenty-eight-year-old Bureau of Land Management-Alaska smokejumper 
David J. Liston loved firefighting, and he died doing what he loved. 
During a refresher jump April 29, 2000 in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, 
David's parachute and the back-up chute failed to open. David was 
returning to work after his honeymoon in Mexico with new wife Kristin; 
the two were married 21 days earlier, on April 8.
  Mr. President, David's dedication to firefighting will be remembered 
on October 7 by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at a 
Memorial Service at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in 
Emmitsburg, Maryland. David's name will be inscribed on a plaque at the 
memorial, along with the names of 100 other firefighters who died in 
2000. Sadly, after the service, the memorial will bear the names of 
2,181 firefighters from 38 states and Puerto Rico. Each family, 
including David's, will be presented with an American flag that has 
been flown over the nation's Capitol.
  None of us can thank firefighters enough for the work they do 
everyday. The heroism and bravery we witnessed in the firefighters in 
New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania on September 11, 
remind us of the courage America's firefighters must embrace daily. 
Their selflessness and their desire to help others is to be commended, 
and we always need to remember those, like David Liston, for their 
service and determination to get the job done.

                          ____________________