[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 12 (Wednesday, February 4, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING CURTIS MANCINI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETER DEUTSCH

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 4, 2004

  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commemorate the 
contributions of Curtis Mancini of Davie, Florida. Curtis was among the 
seven U.S. soldiers killed on January 29 while serving in Afghanistan. 
He had served as a Davie police officer for 17 years and had been 
serving in Afghanistan for a year as a reservist.
  Curtis was a soldier's soldier. His father, Commander Sergeant Major 
John Mancini of Rhode Island had served in the Army for 35 years and 
remembers Curtis saying he served now so that his children and other 
people's children would not need to later. Curtis had been promoted to 
sergeant first class, assigned to the 2nd Battalion Infantry, 10th 
Mountain Division and shipped off to Afghanistan on January 5. He 
served as a positive role model and longtime instructor at the 
Institute of Public Safety. Between 1989 and 2000, Curtis served on a 
drug task force in the U.S. DEA in Fort Lauderdale and upon returning 
to Davie, he became a training instructor. Friends and family remember 
Curtis as an avid sportsman, a brilliant instructor and dedicated 
father. He enjoyed running marathons, most recently the Walt Disney 
World marathon and ran 45 miles weekly.
  In 2000, Curtis said in a Miami Herald interview, ``It's better to 
burn out than fade away.'' This was the type of man Curtis was.
  Curtis is survived by his three children, his former wife, and 
countless colleagues, friends and family.

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