[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 8 (Tuesday, February 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING CAPTAIN MARK STUBENHOFER

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 1, 2005

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and 
remember the life of Captain Mark Stubenhofer and his remarkable 
service to the United States of America.
  Captain Stubenhofer was born on April 18, 1974 in Fairfax, Virginia. 
He grew up here in the suburbs of this great capital of freedom and was 
an all-American from the start. He delivered newspapers in the morning 
before school and worked long after the school day ended doing homework 
or practicing baseball. He attended West Springfield High School here 
in Fairfax, Virginia and attended Nativity Catholic Church nearby. He 
was elected Student Government Vice President at West Springfield and 
during his senior year played baseball on the varsity squad. He 
attended Clemson University where his leadership skills were honed 
through the school's ROTC program. He graduated from Clemson in May of 
1996 and immediately began fulfilling his obligation to the Army.
  Captain Stubenhofer was commissioned as an infantry officer and 
attended both the elite Airborne and Ranger schools. He went on to 
serve two tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In his first 
tour in 2003 he helped liberate five Iraqi cities. In his second tour 
Captain Stubenhofer served as a company commander for the 1st 
Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. 
He was awarded numerous medals and honors, among them two Bronze Star 
Medals, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, and two Army 
Commendation Medals. Tragically, he was killed in combat on December 7, 
2004.
  During his final tour of duty, Captain Stubenhofer's third child was 
born--a daughter he would never see or hold. He asked his wife Patty to 
name the child Hope. Mark, in his last phone conversation to his 
parents, commented that it was hope that brought him to Iraq and to the 
service of his country.
  Mr. Speaker, we owe Captain Mark Stubenhofer, and all those who have 
made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, a debt of gratitude that 
can never be repaid. While we pay homage to fallen heroes like Mark 
with monuments of stone, the most fitting tribute is the enduring 
memory of their lives. As Pericles, the great orator, builder, and 
general of Athens said, ``For to famous men all the earth is a 
sepulcher; and their virtues shall be testified not only by the 
inscription in stone at home but by an unwritten record of the mind, 
which more than of any monument will remain with everyone forever.''
  Mr. Speaker, I call on this body to forever remember Captain Mark 
Stubenhofer and to keep record in our minds and hearts, the great works 
and sacrifices that our sons and daughters of the military continue to 
make on our behalf.

                          ____________________