[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 5, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO PRIVATE FIRST CLASS MARQUIS ANTOINE WHITAKER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 5, 2004

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I 
rise today to pay special tribute to one of our nation's many heroes, 
Army Pfc. Marquis Antoine Whitaker. Pfc. Whitaker lost his life April 
27 while serving his country in Iraq. He was only twenty years old.
  A beloved son and brother, a proud American and a devoted Christian, 
Marquis loved football, music, his GMC Jimmy and his girlfriend, Tarai, 
who misses him very much. He graduated from Kendrick High School in 
2002 and joined the Army only months later, to give back to his country 
and put his career on a responsible path.
  He began basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and eventually 
became a motor transport operator assigned to the Regimental 
Headquarters Troop, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, at Fort Polk, 
Louisiana. Pfc. Whitaker was deployed to Iraq in July 2003. Although 
his family expected him home April 14, his tour was extended due to the 
increase in insurgent activity in Iraq. Two weeks later a truck crashed 
into the back of his Humvee, pushing it partially over the side of a 
bridge. Marquis Whitaker fell while attempting to climb to safety.
  Pfc. Whitaker joins 756 American troops who have given their lives to 
bring freedom to the people of Iraq. We mourn their loss and the 
promise of their futures, like that of Marquis, were cut all too short.
  Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, I ask you to join me in 
honoring Pfc. Marquis Whitaker. I promise his mother Jacqueline, his 
father Anthony, his five sisters and two brothers that Marquis will 
forever remain a hero in the eyes of his country and that we will never 
forget the sacrifice he made in the name of freedom and democracy.

                          ____________________