[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 82 (Thursday, June 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RYAN BECKER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2003

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
pay tribute to a firefighter who has gone out of his way to serve his 
country. Ryan Becker, a firefighter from Vail, Colorado, left the 
comforts of home recently to assist in the search for wreckage of the 
space shuttle Columbia.
  Ryan's experience and training fighting wildland fires gave him 
exactly the kind of expertise NASA needed. So Ryan volunteered to help, 
and NASA supplied him and other members of his 18-person team with a 
map and put them to work in East Texas. The work wasn't always easy and 
at times was downright dangerous. Ryan walked through briar batches 
that tore his clothes and scratched his body, waded through muddy 
swamps and creeks, and dodged poisonous water moccasins and copperhead 
snakes; all in an effort to find a clue that might help investigators 
understand this tragic accident.
  Yet despite the difficulties, Ryan and his teammates worked shifts up 
to 12-hours long, walked about eight miles a day, and covered many 
acres of territory. Their findings included debris that ranged in size 
from a four feet by six feet piece of the bulkhead to tiny chunks of 
about a quarter inch.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of Ryan's contributions to our Space Shuttle 
program. This outstanding individual sacrificed in order to ensure that 
a calamity like the Columbia disaster will never happen again. I am 
honored to tell Ryan's story before this body of Congress today, and I 
wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________