[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 26 (Tuesday, March 8, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNITION OF ARMY SPECIALIST JACOB PALMATIER

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                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 2005

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Army 
Specialist Jacob Palmatier who was recently killed in action fighting 
for freedom in Iraq.
  Palmatier was a 29-year-old from Springfield, Illinois who served as 
an Army Specialist assigned to the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry 
Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Benning, GA. 
Palmatier went to Springfield's Lutheran High School and later entered 
Illinois College, where he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in 
English. He excelled in languages, learning to speak fluent Japanese as 
well as some Norwegian, Russian and French. He had been in Iraq for 
less than a month when he was killed outside of Baghdad by a roadside 
bomb.
  Palmatier is survived by his wife Bridget of Rochester whom he 
married in 2003 and his parents David and Margaret Palmatier of 
Springfield. I am proud of the service this young man gave to our 
country and the service his fellow troops perform every day. Not enough 
can be said about Army Spc Palmatier. It is troops like him that are 
risking their lives day in and day out to ensure our freedom here at 
home and to others throughout the rest of the world. I salute him and 
my best wishes go out to his family and all the troops fighting to 
ensure freedom and democracy.

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