[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 131 (Monday, October 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11343-S11344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    SERGEANT MICHAEL DUANE ACKLIN II

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask the Senate to pause for a moment 
today in loving memory and honor of Sergeant Michael Duane Acklin II.
  Sergeant Acklin of Louisville, KY, served with the First Battalion, 
320th Field Artillery, 101st Airborne Division. Nearly 2 years ago, he 
gave his life in defense of our country in the northern Iraqi city of 
Mosul. He was 25 years old and had served in the Army for 5 years.
  On November 15, 2003, Sergeant Acklin was on an evening patrol over 
Mosul in a Blackhawk helicopter, and his team was responding to an 
ambush of a squad of American soldiers on the ground. As the helicopter 
hovered above the fight, a second helicopter, which had also come to 
help, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
  That helicopter lost control and hit Sergeant Acklin's aircraft, 
cutting off the tail rotor of Sergeant Acklin's helicopter. Both 
helicopters lost control and crashed, killing 17 soldiers. Sergeant 
Acklin was one of them. It was the largest loss of American lives 
during a single incident in Iraq at the time.
  Sergeant Acklin was buried in Louisville at the Zachary Taylor 
National Cemetery, named for America's 12th President who is also laid 
to rest there. For his valor, Sergeant Acklin was awarded the Bronze 
Star and the Purple Heart. During his service, he also received the 
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism 
Expeditionary Medal.
  Michael attended Butler High School and then Western High School, 
where he graduated in 1996. After graduation, he worked as a bus boy, a 
cook, and at several other temporary jobs, but none gave Michael the 
challenge or the fulfillment that he was looking for. Then he began to 
see the Army as a way to focus his life and spirit.
  Michael's family has a long and distinguished career of military 
service. His grandfather, Eugene Acklin, his great-grandfather, Fred 
Bible, and three of his cousins have all served in either the Army or 
Air Force. In fact, before making his decision to enlist, Michael spoke 
with one of those cousins, Curtis Luckett Jr., an Army veteran. Michael 
also sought the advice of his father's cousin, LTC Charles Mitchell, 
Jr., a career military officer who gave him a personal perspective on 
Army life. However, Michael made his decision to join the Army in his 
own way.
  A devout Christian, Michael enlisted in the Army in the summer of 
1998, after hearing, according to what he told his family later, what 
he could describe only as the voice of God. In hopes of following God's 
calling, Michael had a friend drive him to a nearby Army recruiting 
station, and he signed up. He felt this was to be his path into 
adulthood. His father applauded his decision, and his mother hoped it 
would provide him the direction he was seeking.
  While he found basic training tough, Michael embraced the discipline 
the Army provided him, and he successfully completed his training and 
emerged with a greater awareness of his strengths and talents. Early-
morning wake-up calls at 4:30 and ceaseless drills gave Michael a new 
sense of commitment and confidence. He was made a recruit leader, and 
after training to use large artillery pieces, he was assigned to the 
101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, KY, not too far from 
his home back in Louisville.
  Sergeant Acklin was a part of the initial wave of forces sent to 
liberate Iraq in March 2003. The 101st Airborne took the lead, as it 
always does whenever our country calls, and Michael and his unit were 
charged with providing cover fire in support of our troops.
  After the fall of Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime, Michael's unit 
built schools, cleared streets, and tracked down suspected terrorists. 
He commanded five other men, and made sure they wrote their families 
back home often.

[[Page S11344]]

  Michael Acklin, or ``Mikey'' as his mother Dorothy calls him, grew up 
as a bright young boy who enjoyed playing football or video games with 
the neighborhood kids, many of whom would remain lifelong friends. He 
played basketball with his dad, who first taught him how to dunk. He 
was a good kid with a big smile who was known at school to be a 
prankster, but also a good student.
  ``My son always had a jolly outlook everyday,'' said Sergeant 
Acklin's father, Michael Acklin Sr. ``He was just always filled with 
joy.''
  Growing up, Mrs. Acklin recalls her son playing the drums, writing 
poems, and helping younger children at church, bringing a quiet 
thoughtfulness to everything he did. Michael listened to people, that 
was his style.
  While stationed at Fort Campbell, Michael drove to the base everyday 
from his rented room in a servicemen's church. When not on duty, he 
taught Sunday school, attended Bible studies, and helped out around the 
church by cooking meals or cutting the grass. His fellow soldiers began 
calling him ``Preacher'' for his frequent praying before missions. 
Michael talked to his father about going to a Bible college and 
becoming a minister when he got back. He was able to find a direction 
for his life, before he was tragically taken from us.
  We thank Michael's parents, Dorothy Acklin and Michael Acklin Sr., 
for sharing Michael's story with us. As Michael's father said, ``I know 
my son has gone to be with the Lord. I do know my son certainly will be 
honored.''
  It is my hope that we have done our part to help honor Michael today, 
even if only a small part. Words cannot erase the grief and despair 
that hang over Michael's parents, family and beloved friends. But they 
can declare boldly to all that Michael was a hero. He gave his life to 
defend us, and our freedoms. His mission was to spread that freedom, 
like a light, into places that had only known darkness. Michael may 
have been taken from us. But the light he planted in people's hearts 
will never be extinguished.
  I ask my colleagues to keep the family of SGT Michael Acklin II in 
their thoughts and prayers. I know they will be in mine.
  I yield the floor.


                      Staff Sergeant Matt Kimmell

  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart and deep 
sense of gratitude to honor the life of a brave soldier from Paxton. 
Matt Kimmell, 30 years old, died on October 11 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, 
when an improvised explosive device exploded near the military vehicle 
in which he was riding. With so much of his life before him, Matt 
risked everything to fight for the values Americans hold close to our 
hearts, in a land halfway around the world.
  A man remembered for kindness, compassion, and deep faith, Matt 
joined the National Guard just 1 year after graduating from Faith 
Christian School in Carlisle. Soon committed to military life, he 
signed up for a tour of duty and was chosen to be an Army airborne 
ranger. When his training was over, he returned home, studied law 
enforcement at Vincennes University and joined the Vanderburgh County 
Sheriff's Department as a road patrol deputy, where he worked 3 years 
before reenlisting in the Army. Universally liked and admired, his 
friends and colleagues recounted that Matt had not joined the military 
for glory but rather because of his deep sense of right and wrong.
  Matt served as the newspaper carrier for the Sullivan Daily Times 
during his childhood in Paxton. Even as a young boy, customers remember 
him as prompt and diligent. All of his actions were underscored by his 
Christian faith. Three years ago, he married Mylissa Hall, a nurse from 
Worthington. He loved children and the couple planned to start a family 
when he returned from Iraq. A friend of Matt's told the Terre Haute 
Tribune Star, ``He broke the mold when they made him.'' Matt's small 
hometown has been hit hard by the death of one of their own. This week, 
townsfolk planted 542 small American flags down a half mile stretch in 
Matt's honor and they have started a fund to build a monument to him.
  Matt was killed while serving his country in Operation Iraqi Freedom. 
He was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, based at Fort 
Campbell, KY. This brave young soldier leaves behind his wife Mylissa; 
his father Pastor Larry Kimmell and his mother Jeanne; his brother 
Matt; and his sister Suzanne.
  Today, I join Matt's family and friends in mourning his death. While 
we struggle to bear our sorrow over this loss, we can also take pride 
in the example he set, bravely fighting to make the world a safer 
place. It is his courage and strength of character that people will 
remember when they think of Matt, a memory that will burn brightly 
during these continuing days of conflict and grief.
  Matt was known for his dedication to his family, his faith, and his 
love of country. Today and always, Matt will be remembered by family 
members, friends, and fellow Hoosiers as a true American hero and we 
honor the sacrifice he made while dutifully serving his country.
  As I search for words to do justice in honoring Matt's sacrifice, I 
am reminded of President Lincoln's remarks as he addressed the families 
of the fallen soldiers in Gettysburg: We cannot dedicate, we cannot 
consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and 
dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power 
to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we 
say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
  This statement is just as true today as it was nearly 150 years ago, 
as I am certain that the impact of Matt's actions will live on far 
longer than any record of these words.
  It is my sad duty to enter the name of Matt Kimmell in the 
Congressional Record of the U.S. Senate for his service to this country 
and for his profound commitment to freedom, democracy, and peace. When 
I think about this just cause in which we are engaged, and the 
unfortunate pain that comes with the loss of our heroes, I hope that 
families like Matt's can find comfort in the words of the prophet 
Isaiah who said, ``He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord 
God will wipe away tears from off all faces.''
  May God grant strength and peace to those who mourn, and may God be 
with all of you, as I know He is with Matt.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.

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