[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING SGT SHERWOOD BAKER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 17, 2004

  Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember Sgt. Sherwood 
Baker, a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard who was killed in 
Iraq on April 26, 2004. I would like to share with the American people 
the words of Dante Zappala, Sgt. Baker's younger brother, who spoke at 
a peace rally in Los Angeles on June 5:

       The tragedy that touches so many people in so many corners 
     of the world; the tragedy of war, the tragedy of violent and 
     sudden death, touched me on April 26th when my brother, 
     Sergeant Sherwood Baker was killed in an explosion in 
     Baghdad. I speak today with my voice, and with the voice of 
     the countless others who have suffered personal loss as a 
     result of this war, those many people with no microphone in 
     front of them, those many people with no one to listen to 
     their pain. As big brothers do, Sherwood protected me, he 
     carried me and he taught me.
       With his heart and with his decisions, he taught me about 
     commitment and about determination. When I would get bitter 
     about the injustice brought to this world by the causes of 
     the United States, he taught me that you can love this 
     country and yet not love what people do in its name. He 
     showed me that we can heal, we can learn and we can grow. He 
     taught me, in the end, to be a patriot.
       With his silent exit into the desert night, he showed me 
     the difference between empty language and quiet 
     understanding, the difference between baseless political 
     grandstanding and true patriotism. Sherwood had a great 
     intellect and a life commitment to forge responsibility in an 
     irresponsible world. He was a foster kid who knew he could 
     have had a much different life. And it made him strong. As 
     hardships inevitably found him.
       Sherwood never had the time or the desire to be angry about 
     his circumstances. Not when he was a young father working 
     three jobs, living in a housing project, trying to make a 
     better life than he had known, and not when the call came to 
     serve in Iraq. And when that call came, he took the most 
     simple path--he went.
       He went with the hope of doing the impossible--make 
     something positive happen in the grips of war. To no 
     surprise, he lifted his head and went to work.
       Like most of us, he didn't like his boss but it became 
     immaterial when it was time to do his job. He spent his life 
     trying to be kind to people and he saw people in Iraq, and he 
     thought that he could be kind to them. He left behind a son, 
     a wife and a family that adored him for his beliefs.
       I feel pride, a pride knowing that my brother had honor 
     even though the person who sent my brother marching to Iraq 
     has no honor. George Bush is wholly un-American because he 
     pimps the one value my brother held so true--devotion. He has 
     sold out the core of America, the people who are this 
     country--the truck drivers, field workers, the day laborers, 
     the dishwashers, the waitresses, the teachers, the country 
     workers, the mechanics, the janitors, the street pavers, the 
     house painters and the housewives, and yes, the soldiers.
       All of us had hoped to live simple lives with our simple 
     aspirations. George Bush has sold our futures to pay for his 
     power lust, his greed, and his selfish world plans. He sold 
     away my brother's future to pay for the privilege and favor 
     of his friends. We, the people of this country, all of us, 
     are not his friends. We are not in his circle of favor. We do 
     not benefit from the deaths of our soldiers nor do we benefit 
     from the deaths of the Iraqi people. To honor Sherwood, I 
     have vowed to follow his path--to lift my head and go to 
     work. Our duty is to spread truth, our duty is to combat the 
     lies, the misrepresentations, the fear, the mongering and the 
     people who mean to ruin our belief in this country. I have 
     made a promise to my brother, and that is to do as he would 
     do--to not be angry about my circumstances, to not let 
     bitterness overcome my heart, but to proceed with hope. 
     Today, and in the days ahead, do not let your anger carry 
     you, allow your desire to make change carry you. Allow the 
     compassion towards humanity to carry you. Ride your 
     commitment to peace. Share your soul with your country, share 
     your values with the world. Make it your job.




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