[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 31 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING SPC JACOB S. FLETCHER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 11, 2004

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of SPC 
Jacob S. Fletcher, a fallen soldier from my district. SPC Fletcher gave 
his life on November 13, 2003 in Samarra, Iraq.
  Jacob was the most recent in a long line of heroes to make the 
ultimate sacrifice for his country. In the two and a quarter centuries 
of our nation's history, our country has faced seemingly insurmountable 
obstacles. But in generation after generation, Americans have risen to 
the occasion and met every challenge.
  In the 18th century, our forefathers were able to beat back the 
greatest military superpower in the world to secure our independence. 
In the 19th century, Americans defeated the greatest injustice in the 
world--slavery. And in the 20th century, millions of patriots, in what 
has come to be known as America's greatest generation, defeated the 
greatest evil the world has ever known--the Nazis. Jacob was part of a 
generation that faces a newer, but no less dangerous tyranny.
  He was born and raised on Long Island. In many ways, he was very much 
like the hundreds of thousands of other children in our country--with 
one remarkable exception. Jacob was willing to make the ultimate 
sacrifice to secure the blessings of liberty--for his countrymen, for 
our children, and for America's future. By sacrificing himself for our 
way of life, Jacob died an American hero.
  By fighting for a better world, Jacob, as the poet John Gillespie 
Magee, Jr. wrote, ``slipped the surly bonds of earth'' to ``touch the 
face of God.'' May his name be remembered throughout history, and may 
he serve as a source of strength and pride to future American 
generations.

                          ____________________