[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 94 (Friday, July 9, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REMEMBERING SECOND LIEUTENANT ANDRE D. TYSON

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 9, 2004

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to pay 
tribute to a young man from my district who was killed in action 
serving in the Iraqi conflict.
  Second Lieutenant Andre D. Tyson was charged with patrolling and 
gathering intelligence on insurgents in the farmlands in Balad. He 
died, at 33, when enemy forces ambushed his ground patrol.
  Called to active duty last fall, Second Lieutenant Tyson was assigned 
to the 579th Engineer Battalion, Army National Guard, which is based in 
Petaluma, California.
  Mr. Speaker, Andre Tyson told a reporter 10 days before his death, 
that local people were hospitable to the soldiers, giving them tea and 
bread that he described as being ``almost like homemade tortillas.'' 
His cousin said, ``All of his e-mails spoke positively about his 
experiences in Iraq.''
  Mr. Speaker, Andre's family said he was a man that commanded respect 
and his peers looked up to him.
  It is important to honor and pay tribute to all of the brave men and 
women across the Nation who have given their lives in defense of the 
freedoms we enjoy every single day, and all leave behind families who 
miss their sons and daughters. Too many of our young people have their 
lives cut way too short, but their sacrifice will be long remembered.
  I would like to extend my condolences to the family and friends of 
Second Lieutenant Andre D. Tyson, and my thoughts and prayers are with 
his family during this difficult time.

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