[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 121 (Thursday, September 30, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING TOM KISTLER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2004

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, today I want to recognize and 
remember the life of a local hero: Tom Kistler.
  Although it has been over a year, it is still hard for those affected 
by this humble, quiet man to believe he's gone. The residents of Polk 
County, Oregon, know their neighbors--and they look up to the 
firefighters who serve them.
  Killed on his way to drill on March 29, 2003, Tom Kistler died in the 
same way he lived--in the service of others.
  Captain Kistler was a volunteer firefighter for twenty-five years. He 
was proud of his time with the Independence (Oregon) Fire Department 
and Polk County Fire District #1.
  It was Tom that led the effort in fielding a water rescue/recovery 
team; it was Tom that brought his peers together to raise funds for the 
annual Firefighter's Christmas program for the local children; and it 
was Tom that was always ``there'' keeping his community safe.
  As if his service in the fire department wasn't enough--and it would 
have been--Tom was also a thirty-year veteran of the Oregon National 
Guard.
  For Tom Kistler, being a citizen meant action. It meant doing things. 
Citizenship was a verb.
  This week, brothers and sisters in service will remember his life and 
his sacrifice during a special ceremony at the National Fire Academy.
  Today, let us take a moment and reflect upon Tom Kistler and many 
like him that serve our communities and our Nation, the folks that make 
the personal sacrifices every day, not because they have to but because 
they choose to. They are the volunteers that make our Nation strong, 
the people that make our communities special.
  America is still the land of the free and the home of the brave--Tom 
Kistler helped make it so.

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