[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 70 (Monday, May 12, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S6024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER HANS N. GUKEISEN

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to CWO Hans 
N. Gukeisen, a South Dakotan who was killed on May 9 while serving in 
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Chief Warrant Officer Gukeisen was a member of the 571st Medical 
Company and was stationed at Fort Carson, CO. He was killed when the 
Black Hawk helicopter he was copiloting crashed near Tikrit. Hans was 
on a mission to evacuate an Iraqi child who had suffered serious 
injuries in an explosion.
  Chief Warrant Officer Gukeisen had joined the military in 1989 after 
graduating from Lead High School in Lead, SD. Although he left the 
military for a short time, he had continued his service by joining the 
South Dakota National Guard. To pursue his dream of becoming a 
helicopter pilot, Hans had re-enlisted in the Army and was assigned to 
the air ambulance of the 571st Medical Company.
  Chief Warrant Officer Gukeisen's mother Margaret lives in Hill City, 
SD, and his father Terry in Lead. Hans' older brother Ray is also 
serving in the military as a Special Forces instructor at Fort Bragg. I 
know they, and everyone who knew Hans, will miss him deeply. Hans gave 
his life while helping defend America's liberty, freeing the Iraqi 
people, and, specifically in this mission, trying to save the life of a 
badly injured child.
  Margaret has said she will remember her son as someone who loved 
hunting and fishing. These are common pastimes for a boy growing up in 
South Dakota. But I know the Gukeisen family, and the entire State of 
South Dakota, will also remember Hans as a hero who died while proudly 
serving his country.
  Mr. President, I join with all South Dakotans in expressing my 
sympathies to the family of Chief Warrant Officer Gukeisen. I know that 
he will always be missed, but his service to our Nation will never be 
forgotten.

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