[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, on Friday, September 19, 2003, 
Vermonters will gather in Proctor, VT, for a happy, yet solemn 
occasion. They will assemble on that day to reopen Proctor's Marble 
Arch Bridge and to dedicate a memorial to SGT Justin Garvey, United 
States Army, 101st Airborne Division.
  The joy will be in the celebration of the new bridge, a centerpiece 
of Proctor's infrastructure. It is the town's only bridge to span 
Vermont's longest river, the Otter Creek. Originally constructed in 
1915, the new bridge will reestablish an historic gateway between the 
east and west of Justin's home community.
  Proctor's Marble Arch Bridge, adorned with Highland Marble quarried 
from beneath Vermont's grand mountains, is an elegant example of 
artistry, craftsmanship and heritage, values that we Vermonters cherish 
and respect.
  SGT Justin Garvey, Proctor High School Class of 1998, exemplified 
these values as well. Justin was, by all accounts, an outstanding young 
man. He was known as a strong competitor, a motivated student, and an 
avid outdoorsman. His friends knew him as being good hearted and good 
humored. Justin was a loyal brother, a dedicated son and a loving 
husband.
  Justin Garvey loved and is loved by his family and community.
  He crossed the Marble Arch Bridge innumerable times. When he last 
crossed this bridge, he was on a journey that would take him to serve 
in the United States Army 101st Airborne Division, one of America's 
most elite defense forces.
  Not every soldier has the ``stuff'' to make the 101st Airborne. But 
it was no surprise to those who knew him that Justin Garvey studied and 
trained and worked to become a top-notch soldier. A fellow soldier 
wrote that ``He was a man who had no enemies . . . he is everything I 
want to be as a man. Everyone who ever met Justin was better for it. It 
was an honor to have served with him up to the end, that night. He 
taught me what a true hero is.''
  From before its inception and throughout its history, America has 
depended upon the willingness of men like Justin Garvey to put 
themselves in harm's way for the sake of country and countrymen.
  Indeed, this Nation has survived only because of such men and such 
women.
  When Justin Garvey last crossed Proctor's historic Marble Arch 
Bridge, he was already a hero to his family and friends in this 
community. Today, all of Vermont and all of America recognize Justin 
Garvey as an American hero.
  Indeed, the world is in his debt.
  It is fitting and proper that we should dedicate a memorial to SGT 
Justin Garvey, Proctor native, American hero.
  May God Bless Justin and his family.

                          ____________________