[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 4, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING SPECIALIST GAVIN COLBURN

  (Mr. NEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the ultimate sacrifice 
made by an American hero, Specialist Gavin Colburn of Frankfort, Ohio. 
He was an Army Reservist with the 542nd Transportation Company serving 
in the war on terror in Iraq.
  Specialist Colburn would be considered a hero by anyone's standards 
for being willing to answer his Nation's call to duty. Yet, Gavin was a 
hero in an even greater sense. On April 22 when a roadside bomb 
exploded near Specialist Colburn's truck, he threw himself in between 
the bomb and a fellow soldier, saving her life while sacrificing his 
own.
  As we struggle to deal with the loss of this young man, let me assure 
Members that Specialist Gavin Colburn's life was not sacrificed in 
vain. Specialist Colburn was a young man full of promise, passion, 
bravery and heart, a young man fighting for what he believed was right 
and fighting for a cause he believed to be true.
  Gavin loved his fiancee, his family and friends. And he loved his 
country. His family, his fiancee, his friends, the community of 
Frankfort, Ohio, and the United States of America, will never forget 
the incredible sacrifice this young man has made, for Specialist Gavin 
Colburn was born more than a soldier, he was an American patriot and an 
American hero. May God rest his soul.

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