[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5328-S5329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO FIRST LIEUTENANT ROBERT LEWIS HENDERSON II

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask the Senate to pause for a moment

[[Page S5329]]

today in loving memory and honor of 1st Lt Robert Lewis Henderson II.
  Lieutenant Henderson of Alvaton, KY, served with the 2123rd 
Transportation Company in the Kentucky Army National Guard, based in 
Owensboro, KY. On April 17, 2004, he gave his life in defense of our 
country in the city of Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq. He had served his Nation as 
a citizen-soldier for 16 years--nearly half his life. Lieutenant 
Henderson was 33 years old.
  On that day in April 2 years ago, as night approached, Lieutenant 
Henderson and three of his fellow soldiers were escorting a convoy of 
the Army's 1st Armored Division.
  Their mission was to transport the 1st Armored Division, with its 
essential M1A1 Abrams tanks and missile launchers, toward the fierce 
fighting in Al Najaf, where Coalition forces battled terrorists.
  Staff Sergeant Michael Grimes, a fellow Kentuckian who was with 
Lieutenant Henderson in the Humvee, recalls that Rob ``was proud to be 
in the Kentucky Guard and on the mission that day.''
  Lieutenant Henderson and his team drove through an area of Ad 
Diwaniyah that our troops have come to call ``ambush alley.'' The 
foreboding nickname proved apt as Lieutenant Henderson's convoy, 
driving up the street, came upon an overturned tractor trailer in an 
intersection.
  Lieutenant Henderson, who was driving the lead Humvee, tried to go 
around the obstacle, but as the escort team slowed, terrorists ambushed 
them.
  Lieutenant Henderson sustained what proved to be a fatal gunshot in 
the leg, but he still managed to drive his team to a strategic position 
where they could return fire and then warn the convoy of impending 
danger. His final act was to protect his friends and fellow soldiers.
  His actions ``probably saved hundreds of lives,'' said Kentucky 
National Guard Adjutant GEN Donald Storm.
  For his valorous service, Lieutenant Henderson was awarded the Bronze 
Star Medal and the Purple Heart. And he was awarded the Kentucky 
Distinguished Service Medal, for demonstrating all the qualities of a 
great soldier, remaining combat-focused while decisively engaged with 
the enemy, performing his duties, and accomplishing his mission.
  Rob enlisted in the Kentucky National Guard in 1988, when he was just 
17 years old, as a student at Warren Central High School in Bowling 
Green, KY. His mother, Lillian Henderson, recalls when he told her, 
``If you don't sign for me at 17, I'll sign for myself at 18.''
  Surely Rob knew the honor and the sacrifice that came with serving 
one's country. Rob's father, Robert ``Lou'' Henderson, served in the 
Army during the Korean War. Lou passed away after a struggle with 
cancer in 1994, but his son continued the family legacy.
  After 8 years as an enlisted soldier, Rob felt he still had more to 
give. In 1997, he went to Officer Candidate School at Fort Eustis, VA. 
By 1998, he had made first lieutenant.
  Lieutenant Henderson deployed to Kuwait in January 2004. Rob and his 
unit were charged with transporting convoys of heavy armored units 
which traveled from Kuwait to the front lines in Iraq.
  As platoon leader, Rob was tasked with overseeing the complicated 
logistics of these missions. From scheduling maintenance on the heavy 
trucks to securing fuel, Rob's duties encompassed ``most everything,'' 
recalled his friend SGT Doug Pollard, who also served in the Kentucky 
Guard.
  Sergeant Pollard, who met Rob when Rob first enlisted, said that 
``from day one, Rob was about nothing less than hard work and taking 
care of other soldiers.''
  Lieutenant Henderson ``led from the front,'' a popular Army 
expression for officers who lead by example on the front lines. 
Sergeant Grimes said, ``Rob would never ask a man to do anything that 
he wouldn't have done himself.''
  1SG Michael Oliver, also of the Kentucky Guard, agreed. ``Normally, 
as an officer you sit back, supervise and direct,'' he said. 
``Lieutenant Henderson loved . . . to get right in there.''
  Rob's passion for life shone through in his civilian duties as well. 
He worked as a sales manager at a Lowe's hardware store in Bowling 
Green. He had worked at several Lowe's stores throughout Kentucky, 
being promoted with each new post.
  Working as much as 60-plus hours a week, Rob fulfilled his Guard 
training on the weekends, with the same commitment he showed in all 
aspects of life. While working at Lowe's, Rob also met Lisa, the love 
of his life. They married in January 2003.
  Raised in Rockfield, a small Warren County town outside Bowling 
Green, Rob Henderson grew up playing football and baseball and cheering 
for the University of Notre Dame. He also had a fascination with 
trucks.
  Rob worked hard on his home--especially the outside. Lisa Henderson 
recalls her husband's attention to detail, saying, ``he was obsessed 
with mowing the grass, and just insisted that our yard look better than 
any of our neighbors.'' Often seen in jeans and work boots, he loved 
playing with his and Lisa's two dogs.
  Rob was excitedly awaiting the birth of his and Lisa's first child. 
Lisa recalls hearing the excitement in Rob's voice when she called to 
tell him they would be having a baby. Rob was training with his platoon 
in Greenville, KY, and he was so thrilled that he raced off the phone 
to go tell his whole unit.
  Peyton Joshua Henderson was born in July 2004, 3 months after a 
memorial service was held for Lieutenant Henderson in a small chapel 
erected at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
  More than 150 of Lieutenant Henderson's fellow soldiers gathered 
inside. Dozens more clustered outside the entrance, all to pay their 
respects to their fallen leader, brother soldier, and friend. .
  We thank Rob's wife Lisa for sharing her stories of Rob with us. She 
and young Peyton join us in the Capitol today. We are also honored that 
Rob's mother, Lillian Henderson, has shared her memories of her son. 
And today we are thinking of Rob's sister, Jackie Hawkins, and his 
half-sister, Monica Walker, as well.
  Mr. President, I cannot help but feel humbled when I think of 
Lieutenant Henderson's final selfless act. A good soldier to the end, 
he put his men first. It is easy to see his heroism now, but when I 
look back at the brave 17-year-old who stepped forward to honor his 
father and his country, I can see the heroism was already there.
  This Nation can never repay our heroes or their families, but we will 
never forget them.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.

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