[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 64 (Monday, May 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E991-E992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF ARMY SERGEANT ADAM PLUMONDORE AND ARMY SPECIALIST CLINTON 
  GERTSON, BOTH OF WHOM WERE KILLED IN COMBAT DURING OPERATION IRAQI 
                                FREEDOM-

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 16, 2005

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, SGT Adam Plumondore of Gresham, Oregon, 
was killed

[[Page E992]]

in action on 16 February 2005, and SPC Clinton Gertson of Houston 
Texas, was killed in action on 19 February 2005. Both men were snipers 
assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 
25th Infantry Division, Ft. Lewis, Washington. Lieutenant Colonel 
Michael E. Kurilla commands the 1-24 Infantry Regiment and he shares 
his comments made at the memorial service for these Great Americans.

       GEN Bergner, COL Brown, SGTs Major, friends of Deuce Four, 
     and most importantly the men of Deuce Four. Thank you for 
     coming today to honor two of the finest warriors that I have 
     had the privilege and honor to serve beside.
       GEN William T. Sherman stated that War is Hell. My friends, 
     he was right. It affects all those in its all consuming 
     grasp. It affects us physically, mentally, emotionally, and 
     spiritually--it does not differentiate between civilian or 
     soldier. No one wishes for war--to do so is sheer madness. 
     GEN MacArthur said it best--The soldier above all others 
     prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and 
     bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.
       To the men of Deuce Four, we now honor our 7th warrior to 
     die defending the freedom of a people we neither know nor 
     completely understand. But such action is truly the nobility 
     of our profession. We sacrifice all for a people that do not 
     fully understand the extent of our sacrifice. A people that 
     had never tasted the sweet waters of freedom until 30 Jan of 
     this year. And it is because of your valiant actions, the 
     valiant actions of heroes like SGT Adam Plumondore and SPC 
     Clint Gertson.
       I would like to tell you about what kind of men they were 
     as I remembered them--for these were extraordinary men that 
     accomplished extraordinary things.
       Clint Gertson was the first man I met from Deuce Four three 
     weeks before I took command of the Battalion. I was visiting 
     Deuce Four in Feb 2004 conducting live fires at Yakima 
     Training Center. I approached the support by fire position 
     and this 6'4'' square jawed PFC stood up and greeted me with 
     that big Texas smile and asked me if I wanted a clinic on how 
     to shoot; he subsequently proceeded to hit a man sized target 
     at 500m. I immediately knew that I would love this battalion 
     and that if the rest of the soldiers were half as impressive 
     as he was, I would have the best battalion in the Army.
       Gerty became a main stay of motivation for me. If one ever 
     needed to know why it is a privilege and honor to command the 
     sons and daughters of America they only needed to meet Clint 
     Gertson.
       I remember 11 Nov like it was yesterday. What started as a 
     raid to kill or capture an HVT turned into a 6 hour firefight 
     with 60 insurgents, leaving 25 confirmed enemy dead and 
     estimates of up to 40 killed. This was only because of men 
     like Clint Gertson. We were taking significant small arms, 
     RPG and mortar fire when we moved to the top of a building to 
     get better fields of fire. As we arrived at the top of the 
     building, I heard the distinctive bark of the .50 Cal sniper 
     rifle from the corner and looked over to see Gerty in all his 
     glory. Gerty and the sniper crew were killing RPG gunners as 
     they moved between buildings in an attempt to reposition on 
     Apache company. At one point he turned around and gave that 
     big Texas smile and turned back to administering death to the 
     enemy.
       I also remember one month later when Gerty missed a shot on 
     an enemy mortar team only 300m from his hide site (I think it 
     was closer to 250m)--I teased him that he needed more range 
     time but he quickly reminded me that at least it scared the 
     shit out of the enemy to drop the mortar tube and we did 
     capture it. Good point Gerty. Clint Gertson was the kind of 
     man that made you proud to say that you served with him.
       SGT Adam Plumondore was also such a man. An extraordinary 
     leader that did extraordinary things. I had the privilege to 
     observe the actions of SGT Plumondore on a daily basis--and 
     stand back in awe and wonder.
       Plum was a walking uniform violation--but strangely, that 
     is one of the things I loved about this man. I do not think a 
     day would go by where I did not tell him to roll down his 
     sleeves, buckle his chin strap, or trim up his Delta Force 
     mustache. Sure enough, he would make the correction and in 
     the thick of a fire fight there would be Plum with sleeves 
     up, chin strap unbuckled, a big smile on his face and a 
     weapon that never missed--unless he was firing 40mm from his 
     M203 which he often reminded me was an area weapon.
       I remember 3 Dec like it was yesterday. Sixty to seventy 
     enemy had set up a 2km ambush along Route Tampa and the Recon 
     platoon and TAC found itself running a 2km gauntlet of 15 
     IEDs, over 30 RPGs, hand grenades and significant machinegun 
     and AK47 fire. Six soldiers were wounded including SPC Moore 
     who was blown from the hatch of his Stryker that was now 
     running on 8 flat tires--without missing a beat SGT 
     Plumondore immediately jumped up and manned the MK19 and 
     suppressed and killed enemy positions allowing the platoon to 
     get casualties to the CSH and then launch a Battalion counter 
     attack that killed 22 enemy.
       I remember 11 Dec like it was yesterday. As we were 
     beginning to exfil from destroying a weapons cache a suicide 
     car bomb slammed into the side of Hunter 1. The entire 
     vehicle was in flames, 6 soldiers were wounded. The enemy 
     then engaged with mortars, RPGs, and machinegun fire from 3 
     directions. Without even thinking twice, SGT Plumondore 
     jumped from his vehicle with fire extinguishers in his hands 
     and his weapon slung on his back. Without hesitation he began 
     to put out the Stryker on fire and assist in the evacuation 
     of the wounded from the Stryker. The fire out, Plum then 
     turned his attention to the enemy and began to engage them 
     with precision fires. Because of his actions, Plum saved 
     soldiers lives and the Stryker did not burn to the ground--in 
     fact his determined face was back in the gunner's hatch of 
     his vehicle engaging an enemy RPG team that tried to ambush 
     the platoon during exfil--complete with sleeves rolled up to 
     the elbows.
       How do you honor such heroes as Clint Gertson and Adam 
     Plumondore? You honor them by telling the stories of their 
     friendship, camaraderie, and fierce bravery. You honor them 
     by continuing to fight to protect the man on your left and 
     right who would lay down his life so that others might live. 
     You honor them by continuing in this noble endeavor providing 
     freedom to a people we do not know or understand the 
     sacrifices that are made--but that is what makes America the 
     greatest nation on earth.
       We will miss them both terribly, but I know that our Deuce 
     Four snipers, Gerty and Plum, are looking down from Heaven 
     continuing to look out for us--that voice you hear in your 
     head is Gerty calling the winds, Plum ensuring you have the 
     correct distance, and both always reminding you to always 
     look for the positive in life.
       On this day, we ask almighty God to grant us patience and 
     steadfast resolve in all that is to come. May God Bless Deuce 
     Four, 1st Brigade, and may God Bless America.

                          ____________________