[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 137 (Wednesday, October 1, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO PRIVATE EVAN O'NEILL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 1, 2003

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to United States Army, 
Private First Class, Evan O'Neill, who died on Monday, September 29, 
2003, in service to his country.
  Nineteen-year-old Evan O'Neill was a resident of Haverhill, 
Massachusetts, in my Fifth Congressional District. Evan graduated in 
2002 from the Whittier Vocational Technical High School, where he 
studied auto mechanics.
  Evan was a member of the 10th Mountain Division, based out of Fort 
Drum, and was in his third month of deployment in Afghanistan.
  Evan O'Neill comes from a military family that is proud of their 
son's service to the United States. Evan's father, Michael, a 
lieutenant with the Andover, Massachusetts Fire Department, was a 
Vietnam veteran wounded twice, receiving two Purple Hearts and the 
Bronze Star for his service. Michael O'Neill was as proud as any of the 
parents of our servicemen and women when he pinned his silver Airborne 
wings on his son at Fort Benning, Georgia, after Evan successfully 
completed his fifth and final jump. Evan had wanted to follow in his 
father's footsteps by someday becoming a paratrooper. His parents were 
fortunate enough to have had a satellite telephone conversation with 
their son, just hours before his untimely death.
  Evan suffered multiple gunshot wounds during a firefight with 
suspected Taliban militia, near a coalition base at Shkin, just a few 
miles from the Pakistan border, an area that still continues to see 
violent conflicts. Two of O'Neill's comrades were also wounded in the 
attack.
  Evan's death is a grim reminder to us all that while our brave troops 
continue their battle to rebuild a peaceful Iraq, war is still being 
waged thousands of miles away, in Afghanistan, where our country's war 
against terrorism began 2 years ago. More than 11,000 coalition troops 
remain deployed in the hunt for Taliban members, as well as remnants of 
al-Qaeda.
  I visited Afghanistan last year, and I know that our troops who 
continue to serve there remain committed to stabilizing that nation and 
ridding that country of the Taliban rebels, the likes of who executed 
the attack on our country on September 11th, 2001. Evan had told his 
family that he wanted not only to serve his country in our military, 
but also to honor the losses paid by the firefighters and police 
officers who died in the attack on our nation.
  Evan, like many other soldiers who have answered their nation's call 
to service, paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedom and 
liberty.
  Evan O'Neill was a loving son, brother, and fiance, and his 
commitment to his Nation and his family is one for which he will be 
forever remembered. His family knows that Evan's dedication to his 
service was of great value to him.
  Both Michael and his wife, Barbara, believe their son died a hero. 
They are correct. U.S. Army PFC Evan O'Neill served his family, his 
hometown, and his country, proudly and faithfully.

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