[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 144 (Thursday, November 3, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A TRIBUTE TO LOCAL HEROES OF HURRICANE KATRINA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 3, 2005

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to two heroes 
whose leadership following Hurricane Katrina is truly inspiring.
  Randy Boone, a retired U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Survivalman, 
recently wrote me a letter describing the selfless actions of two 
soldiers from the Army's 1108th Blackhawk squadron: Sergeant Stacy 
Eubanks and Sergeant Kring.
  Immediately following the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, Sergeant 
Eubanks, whose own home was damaged, loaded his truck with ice and 
water that he delivered to the Mississippi coast. He went from house to 
house distributing all of the ice and water. He made a second trip that 
same day, and the following day was joined by a neighbor. Others were 
soon inspired to join him. Sergeant Eubanks and his fellow volunteers 
delivered over 5 tons of ice, hundreds of boxes of food, and several 
hundred cases of water throughout south Alabama and Mississippi. He 
also organized a caravan with a tractor trailer truck and pickup trucks 
with trailers loaded with food, water, ice and medical supplies from 
Mobile to Gulfport, MS.
  Sergeant Kring and his family live in Waveland, MS, a community that 
was completely wiped off the map in the path of Hurricane Katrina. 
Thankfully, Sergeant Kring's family is alive and well, but their home 
was destroyed. When Sergeant Kring returned after the storm to what 
previously was his home, he spotted a group of displaced and 
disoriented survivors of Katrina gathered in a Waveland K-mart parking 
lot. Sergeant Kring organized the group, built a temporary shelter and 
a makeshift triage unit, and began assisting the injured. This parking 
lot was given the name ``Camp Katrina.'' Sergeant Kring remained there 
for days until he was able to get outside assistance. I understand that 
the location later became a portable military medical facility to help 
the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Waveland.
  Following Hurricane Katrina, Sergeant Eubanks went to Waveland to 
locate comrades he had not been able to contact. Sergeant Stacy found 
Sergeant Kring at the ``Camp Katrina'' parking lot. The two tried to 
recover personal items from the remains of Sergeant Kring's destroyed 
home.
  The 1108th Blackhawk unit stationed at Fort Shelby was training to go 
to Iraq in October, when Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast. Because 
of the massive destruction to our coastal communities and because many 
of these soldiers' homes were severely damaged or destroyed, it is my 
understanding that only 50 of the soldiers will be deployed to Iraq. 
Sergeant Stacy is one of the 50, and I was not surprised to learn that 
Sergeant Kring has volunteered to go as well.
  Mr. Speaker, the selfless dedication of these two gentlemen to their 
communities in a time of crisis is a tribute to their families, their 
communities, and their service in the Armed Forces. I am grateful to 
have these men serving in our Nation's military, and I commend their 
service.

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