[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO STAFF SERGEANT DAVID WEISENBERG AND SPECIALIST BENJAMIN 
                                ISENBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2004

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, scripture tells us that for 
everything there is a season; there will be times of planting, times of 
harvest, times of peace, and even times of war. And yet, my heart is 
heavy when we bury our children. Staff Sergeant David Weisenberg and 
Specialist Benjamin Isenberg were killed in an ambush in Taji, Iraq 
yesterday. These two proud soldiers were patrolling the frontier of 
hope--ready, willing, and able to stand up for the freedoms of people 
they never really knew. These two men were Oregon's future. They were 
brave, idealistic, and passionate men--united in the belief that their 
individual sacrifice might hasten the day that all people could enjoy 
the sweet blessings of freedom and liberty.
  In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln explained that there was nothing 
he could say that would matter as much as what the fallen had done--
that his words were spoken on hallowed ground, ground made sacred by 
the purity of self-sacrifice. Friends, colleagues, fellow Americans--
his truth endures today. Both men were dedicated professionals that 
came from families accustomed to public service, individual sacrifice. 
I am blessed by their example; I am proud, touched--forever changed by 
their humble act of courage.
  Taji is not Sheridan, it is not Portland--the Iraqi civilians they 
gave their lifeblood for were not their neighbors, friends, or family. 
That didn't matter to them. It never does for heroes. The citizens of 
Taji were people in need, and that was good enough for David and 
Benjamin. These men did their duty because they believed in the spirit 
of America; they wore the uniform and accepted the risks because they 
knew that long journeys result from small steps. David and Benjamin 
were more than Oregon Patriots--though patriots they were. David and 
Benjamin were the face of the very essence of what it means to be 
American.
  So today, I ask that we recommit ourselves to the ideals of our 
democracy; that we renew our personal investment in the America that 
David and Benjamin were willing to fight and ultimately die for. It is 
to them and those that follow that we owe our time, talent, and 
treasure. It is to them that we owe a solution that brings honor to 
their sacrifice.
  Let us do these things and bring about the kind of society that David 
and Benjamin wouldn't just be willing to die for, but a community of 
liberty they would celebrate.

                          ____________________