[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 97 (Friday, June 27, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8849-S8850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A SMALL TOWN WITH A BIG HEART

  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, Independence Day marks a time for 
Americans to celebrate our country's creation through an epic struggle 
for freedom and liberty. Families come together to commemorate the 
qualities displayed by the early patriots: a commitment to democratic 
expression, a yearning to be free from tyranny, and a sober willingness 
to sacrifice life itself on behalf of these aims.
  This Fourth of July, thousands of men and women in our military will 
be in Iraq, dedicating themselves to the reconstruction of this country 
that has lived so long in the shackles of Saddam Hussein's reign of 
terror. Our objective is much the same as in 1776: creating conditions 
in which the people are protected from oppression and in which free 
expression and democratic government can flourish. We know this is not 
an easy task--indeed, our forces continue to suffer casualties but its 
success or failure will be very important, not only to Iraq, but also 
to the future of this country and the entire Middle East.
  I am so proud of the service members who have stepped forward, making 
tremendous sacrifices, to fight for the liberty of a foreign people in 
a foreign land. These men and women have been

[[Page S8850]]

unflinching in their resolve and have already accomplished much.
  I am particularly proud of the roughly 2,000 South Dakotans who have 
been involved in the Iraq campaign. Many of them are South Dakota 
National Guard members, who participated in a mobilization with few 
precedents in our State's history. It was, by far, the largest 
mobilization since World War II. At the time the fighting began, units 
from more than 20 communities had been called up, from Elk Point in the 
south to Lemmon in the north, from Watertown in the east to Custer in 
the west. Indeed, our State's mobilization rate ranked among the 
highest of all the States on a per-capita basis. Also, hundreds of 
personnel from Ellsworth Air Force Base were deployed overseas at the 
height of the campaign.
  But no community in South Dakota, or perhaps the even country, is 
more remarkable in its contribution to this effort than the small town 
of Frederick.
  Frederick lies roughly 30 miles from my hometown of Aberdeen. It is a 
small, close-knit community with a population of fewer than 300 people. 
But twenty-six of Frederick's sons and daughters answered the call to 
duty--nearly ten percent of its population! Frederick's military 
personnel are serving in nearly every branch of the armed forces, 
including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army National Guard, Air 
National Guard, and Army Reserve. To put this tremendous display of 
patriotism in perspective, the boroughs of New York City would need to 
send roughly 750,000 people to match Frederick's effort.
  On July Fourth, Frederick is commemorating the patriotism of its 
service members with a community parade and celebration that will 
feature a flyover by a B-1 bomber out of Ellsworth Air Force Base. They 
will honor their friends, neighbors and loved ones serving in the U.S. 
military, and I want to join them by recognizing them here today. They 
are:
  Air Force: A1C Justin Wallace, SSgt. Jason Strand, Senior MSgt LeRoy 
Fiekens, SSgt. Tara Meyers,
  A1C Paul Sumption, and TSgt. Reiff Mikkonen.
  Air Force National Guard: SSgt. Brian Achen.
  Army: LTC Ronald Claeys, PFC Gary Kurtzhals, and PFC Mikael Schmit.
  Army National Guard: SPC Stephen Achen, Sgt. Ryan Henningsen, Sgt. 
Robert Heider, PFC Jeff Pierce, Cpl. Mike Bunke, Col. Gordon Niva, 
SSgt. Eric Kinslow, Sgt. Dave Gunther, SPC Ben Deuter and Sgt. Ryan 
Bakeburg.
  Army Reserve: Maj. Susan Lahr and PFC Glenn Gunther.
  Navy: PFC Josh Larsen and Petty Officer Randy Jensen.
  Marine Corps: Sgt. Eric Thompson and MSgt. Scott McCullough.
  Let me also take a moment to recognize another young patriot from 
Frederick, 10-year-old Peyton Healy. Though she does not know any of 
the 26 deployed soldiers personally, Peyton took the initiative to 
develop a way for the people of Frederick to support troops serving 
abroad, creating the ``Project Patriotic Penny Fund.'' Working with the 
local American Legion post, she placed donation cans in area businesses 
to raise money for postage on care packages to the troops. She hoped to 
raise roughly $100--enough to pay for one package to every Frederick 
service member. The people of Frederick placed $195 in these cans--
19,500 pennies. They also donated supplies for the packages, such as 
crossword puzzles, pens and paper, batteries, hygiene products, and 
candy.
  Most importantly, Peyton helped us see the defining characteristic of 
the people of Frederick. She helped us see that the people of this tiny 
town have enormous hearts. I call upon my colleagues and the people of 
this Nation to join with me in commending the people of Frederick, and 
in celebrating alongside them on Independence Day the democracy and 
liberty they so proudly defend and promote.

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