[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 055 (Monday, April 7, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING U.S. ARMY SPECIALIST JAMAAL ADDISON

  (Mr. SCOTT of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a very, very special 
occasion. The very first soldier to be killed in the war in Iraq from 
the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area was from my district, the 13th 
district of Congress in Georgia. His name was United States Army 
Specialist Jamaal Addison. He died on March 23 during an ambush attack 
on his unit, the 507th Maintenance Company in central Iraq.
  Oh, what courage, what bravery, and here we are in the United States 
so proud and so grateful for his service. He was just 22 years old, and 
he is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Takla, and their 
two children, 3-year-old daughter, Christian, and a 23-month-old son, 
Jamaal Addison, II.
  Army Specialist Addison was laid to rest today at a funeral service 
held in my district at White's Chapel Methodist Church in Conyers, 
Georgia.
  Mr. Speaker, this was a great hero. Greatness, what a word, that 
comes to mind today.
  When Aristotle, the great philosopher was asked, what is greatness, 
he said, in order to be great, you must first of all know yourself. 
Well, Jamaal Addison knew who he was and he knew whose he was. He was a 
child of God.
  When that question was put to the great Roman General, Marcus 
Aurelius, what is greatness, he said, in order to be great you must 
first of all discipline yourself. Well, this soldier, Jamaal Addison, 
disciplined himself on the battlefields of Iraq and paid the ultimate 
sacrifice.
  But then the question was put to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, what 
makes a great person? And Jesus replied and said, You must first of all 
sacrifice yourself. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and 
strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Jamaal Addison did that. 
Because he gave the greatest love of all, and that is this: he laid 
down his life for his friends, his friends and this Nation and around 
the world who want liberty and love peace.
  God bless this great soldier, Jamaal Addison.

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