[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 50 (Monday, April 19, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4075-S4077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNITION OF THE DEMOCRATIC LEADER
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Democratic leader is
recognized.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I welcome back the distinguished
assistant Republican leader and the Presiding Officer.
I come to the floor today to say a few words about what I believe is
one of the most difficult issues to talk about in the ongoing conflict
in Iraq. My remarks will not address whether I support our troops in
Iraq, because I do. All Americans, I believe, are awed by the courage
and sacrifice of our troops in Iraq. My remarks will not address
whether I am concerned about the administration's failure to honor its
commitment to our troops that they would be required to serve no more
than 365 days ``boots on the ground,'' because I am. My remarks will
not address whether I believe it is essential that we win the fight to
bring democracy, stay the course in Iraq until we see Iraq on the road
to democracy, because I do. Instead, I rise for the sole purpose of
acknowledging the terrible, growing toll this war is taking on some of
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America's finest citizens and their families.
More than 700 American troops have died in the war, and this month,
as we all know, has been the deadliest month for U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
More than 100 Americans soldiers have been killed in Iraq since April
1. Twelve more brave soldiers lost their lives in Iraq this past
weekend.
I come to the floor to pay tribute to the sacrifice of these
soldiers. They sacrificed everything because our Nation asked them to,
and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude. I say to the grieving
families of our fallen heroes: America is with you in sorrow, and we
will not forget you or the loved ones you have lost.
On Holy Thursday, April 8, on the western outskirts of Baghdad, on
the road to Fallujah, Marine Lance Corporal Levi Angell died when the
Humvee he was riding in was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. He was
20 years old. After learning of his son's death, Levi Angell's father
stood outside the family's home in St. Louis, MN, clutching an 8-by-10-
inch photo of his son close to his heart. ``This was my son,'' he told
reporters. ``I am as proud as proud can be of that young man.'' He
added, ``It's a sad, sad day. This is a sad, sad country right now.''
This is a sad, sad day in South Dakota, too. Last night, we learned
that one of the 12 American soldiers killed in Iraq this past weekend
was a member of the South Dakota National Guard. Army Specialist Dennis
Morgan was the sixth South Dakota soldier to die in Iraq and the first
member of the South Dakota National Guard killed in this war. A
military spokesman said he was helping clear mines and explosives
Saturday when a roadside bomb went off. He was 22 years old, and
married.
He joined the Guard immediately after graduating from high school in
Winner, SD, class of 2000. He had been in the Middle East for just
under 2 months. Today, South Dakotans are mourning Specialist Morgan's
death, and praying that his family can find some comfort for their
sorrow. We also pray for the safety of the soldiers who remain in Iraq.
I want to say a few words about some of the other fallen American
heroes who lost their lives in Iraq this month.
Marine Private First Class Dustin Sekula, of Edinburg, TX, was killed
by enemy fire in Fallujah on April 1. Private First Class Dustin Sekula
graduated from high school last year and gave up a full college
scholarship to join the Marines. The father of a high school friend
told his hometown newspaper, ``He was worth his weight in gold. He
would try to conquer anything they would throw at him.''
Twelve American soldiers died in Iraq on April 4, Palm Sunday. Eight
of those soldiers died together in a battle with militia loyal to
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Sadr City, a Shiite slum on the
outskirts of Baghdad. The soldiers were part of a quick response team
that rushed to rescue a platoon pinned down by gunfire in Sadr City.
Seven of the eight were members of the Army's 2nd Battalion, 5th
Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. They had been in Iraq less than
3 weeks. They were: Specialist Casey Sheehan, 24, from Vacaville, CA;
Specialist Dustin Hiller, 25, of Opelika, AL; Specialist Ahmed Cason,
24, of McCalla, AL; Corporal Forest Jostes, 22, of Albion, IL; Sergeant
Yihjyn Chen, 31, from Saipan, Marianas Protectorate, who spoke five
languages and became a U.S. citizen in the Army; and Private First
Class Robert Arsiaga, and Specialist Israel Garza, two West Texans,
both 25, both married, who became best friends at Fort Hood.
At a memorial service in Baghdad for the fallen seven, their
Battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Gary Volesky, said, ``Uncommon
valor was common that day.''
The eighth soldier killed in the firefight in Sadr City, Sergeant
Michael Mitchell, 25, of Porterville, CA, was with the Army's 1st
Armored Division. He had been in Baghdad for 11 months and had re-
enlisted 3 months before he died. His father joined hundreds of other
people marching in a peace rally in San Luis Obispo on the first
anniversary of the war. Bill Mitchell told reporters, ``I said, `Bring
my son home now.' I should have said, `Bring my son home alive.' ''
Seven American soldiers died in Iraq on Monday, April 5, Passover.
Among them was Army Sergeant Lee Todacheene, of Farmington, New Mexico,
a member of the Army's 1st Infantry medic unit. He was killed instantly
when mortar fire hit his guard post in Balad.
Sergeant Todacheene was the nephew of Navajo Nation Vice President
Frank Dayish Jr., through Dayish's wife, Virginia. He is the third
Native American soldier to die in Iraq. Army Specialist Lori Piestawa,
a member of the Hopi tribe killed last March, was the first woman
killed in combat in the war. Sheldon Hawk Eagle, a member of the
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, died last November.
Leaders of the Navajo Nation praised Todacheene as a ``Navajo
warrior'' who ``went to war not to hurt, but to help.'' His younger
brother, Rydell, said, ``He was proud to be in the U.S. Army and a
medic. He was proud to be a Navajo. He believed he was doing some good
in Iraq when everyone thought it was wrong. He was a quiet man. He was
a strong man, a gentleman. He respected himself and everybody, He was
generous and kind, and he loved his family above everything else.''
Tuesday, April 6, was one of the deadliest days of fighting in Iraq
since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Thirteen Americans died in
Iraq that day. Among them were two 18-year-old Marines, both killed by
hostile fire in Fallujah.
Marine Lance Corporal Anthony Roberts, of Bear, DE, was a member of
the Air Force ROTC in high school. In an interview with the
Philadelphia Inquirer, his former ROTC instructor recalled Lance
Corporal Roberts as ``the rare recruit who seemed not to care about the
steady employment, decent pay and educational benefits that the
military offers. `He only talked about serving his country.' ''
Marine Private First Class Ryan Jerback was from Oneida, WI. He was
killed by hostile fire in Fallujah. His father told the Green Bay Press
Gazette that his son told him, ``Dad, maybe I can go over there and
make some change. Maybe I can do something with the people and show
them that we're not animals here, you know?''
``He gave everything he had,'' his father said, ``and it cost him his
life.''
Six American soldiers died in Iraq on April 7. Among them was Army
Staff Sergeant George Scott Rentschler, of Louisville, KY. He was
checking on his platoon members, who were working at a checkpoint, when
a rocket propelled grenade hit the side of a tank in which he was
riding. Iraq was his second war. He had also served in Bosnia.
His mother told the Louisville Gleaner, ``He always told me that the
only way he would get hurt was if they took a rocket to the side of his
tank. That's what happened.''
Staff Sergeant Rentschler had been scheduled to leave Iraq today. He
was 31 years old. He leaves a wife and two sons, ages 12 and 5.
Eight Americans died in Iraq on April 8, Holy Thursday. Marine Staff
Sergeant William Harrell, 30, Placentia, CA, was one of them. He was
killed by hostile fire in Fallujah.
His widow, Kelli, told the Associated Press that when she broke the
news to her 7-year-old son, he asked her, ``If (Daddy) just got shot,
can't they help him?'' She replied, ``Daddy can't be helped right now.
Daddy's with God.''
Thirteen American soldiers died on April 9, Good Friday. Among them
was Army National Guard Specialist Michelle Witmer, of New Berlin, WI,
who died when her Humvee was ambushed in Baghdad.
Michelle's 24-year-old sister, Rachel, served in the same unit, the
32nd Military Police Company. Her twin sister, Charity, was sent to
Iraq last year as a medic. The sisters and the rest of the Witmer
family is agonizing now about whether they should rejoin their units in
Iraq. Michelle Witmer was one of at least two women, and four National
Guard members, killed this month in Iraq.
Eight American soldiers died in Iraq on Easter Sunday, April 11. Army
Sergeant Major Michael Stack and Marine Lance Corporal Torrey Gray were
among them. Sergeant Major Stack, a Special Forces soldier, was 48, a
father of six and grandfather of three. Lance Corporal Gray was 19; he
was on his second tour in Iraq. They both died from hostile fire, in
separate incidents, in Fallujah. As word of Lance Corporal
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Gray's death spread through his hometown of Patoka, IL, a small town
about 60 miles east of St. Louis, village officials put up the ``Avenue
of Flags,'' an observance usually reserved for national holidays.
Army Specialist Richard Trevithick, of Gaines, MI, was one of two
U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq on April 14. The 20-year-old combat
engineer died when an improvised explosive device exploded near his
Humvee in the city of Balad. The explosion caused massive damage to his
chest and killed him instantly. He had been in Iraq 2 months.
His father told the Associated Press, ``You hear it, you process it,
you understand the words, but the impact doesn't hit you. You wake up
in the morning thinking it was a mad dream, then realize it was not.''
As I said, I support our troops and what they are trying to
accomplish in Iraq--under the most difficult of circumstances.
The reality is that this war requires almost no sacrifice for the
overwhelming number of Americans. Our lives are undisturbed. But the
Americans I pay tribute to today sacrificed everything they had. They
are heroes and an inspiration. May we never forget and may we always
cherish their valor and their sacrifice.
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