[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 133 (Wednesday, December 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11250-S11251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                 Lance Corporal Robert F. Eckfield, Jr.

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor this morning to 
pay tribute to Marine LCpl Robert F. Eckfield, Jr., from Cleveland, OH. 
On October 27, 2005, Lance Corporal Eckfield died from injuries 
sustained in Iraq. He was 23 years of age at the time.
  Lance Corporal Eckfield is survived by his father Robert, his mother 
and stepfather Virginia and Norman Taylor, and younger siblings Nathan, 
Rachel, and Norman, Jr.
  Even from a very young age, Robert knew he wanted to serve in the 
Marines. He was adventurous, loved being outdoors, and had a strong 
sense of duty and patriotism. In addition, Robert's family had a long 
tradition of military service. His grandfather had been a marine and 
fought in World War II and Korea. His Uncle Bill served in the Marines 
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And Marine Cpl Derek Wright is Robert's cousin 
and the two enlisted together after the terrorist attacks on September 
11. According to Corporal Wright, Robert wanted to be in the Marines 
ever since he was 12 years of age.
  Robert worked hard for the privilege of wearing the Marines uniform. 
While working odd, part-time jobs, he enrolled in Cleveland Christian 
Academy and attended night classes so that he could earn his high 
school diploma. Immediately after graduating in 2002, Robert joined the 
Marines. As his mother said:

       Right from the start, he wanted to [fulfill] his duty. He 
     went right into boot camp after graduation.

  Virginia was worried about Robert's decision, but she supported him 
because she knew how important the military was to her son. Their 
family drove down to Parris Island, SC, to celebrate his graduation 
from boot camp.
  Robert was a truly brave marine. According to his family, he had his 
mother promise that he would be buried in Arlington if anything ever 
happened to him in Iraq during his third tour of duty. Robert served 
willingly and never questioned his duty.
  In Iraq, Robert served with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 
2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force based in North 
Carolina. Robert was an outstanding marine, someone who always gave it 
everything he had. He served with passion, honor, and dedication.
  Two fellow marines who served with Robert in Iraq wrote the following 
to their friend on an Internet tribute Web site:

       [Eckfield] was one of the most outstanding marines we had. 
     . . . [We] want everyone to know that Eckfield had something 
     no other junior marine had . . . and that was heart. Eckfield 
     never complained about anything, and he was one of the best 
     we had.

  Robert fell in love before he left for Iraq. His girlfriend was Beth 
Dunkle. She wrote the following words of tribute to Robert:

       Bobby was a great man. We were only together for a short 
     time, but it felt like we knew each other our entire lives. 
     There was a connection the moment we met. Our journey started 
     there, and my love for him will never die. He is a true hero. 
     Words can't express how much I love him and miss him.

  Robert and Beth were able to spend some time together before he left 
on his third deployment. Beth visited him at Camp Lejeune where Robert 
filled a room with rose petals, champagne, bouquets, and chocolate-
covered strawberries. Beth said they talked about everything--from 
Robert's ambition to be in law enforcement after leaving the service to 
the future in general and them sharing it together for a lifetime.
  In the words of Robert's mother:

       He just fell in love with a wonderful woman named Beth. . . 
     .When he was home in September, they talked about how happy 
     they would be when he could return home for good in April, 
     and they could be together. He sent her roses on Sweetest 
     Day.

  When Robert died, although Virginia would have liked to have had her 
son closer to her in Ohio, she honored his last request to be buried at 
Arlington National Cemetery. On November 5, 2005, nearly 60 family 
members and friends traveled there for the service where Marine GySgt 
Barry L. Baker presented Robert's mother a flag in her son's honor.
  Robert was a young man who had a bright future before him. He planned 
to attend college when he returned from Iraq and aspired to a career 
with either the Central Intelligence Agency or the State Department.
  Robert will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Teachers who 
knew him when he attended John Marshall High School in Cleveland were 
so proud of his accomplishments as a marine and devastated when they 
heard of his death.
  According to family friend Steve Dever, all activity at Cleveland 
Hopkins International Airport halted when Robert's body arrived. In 
Steve's words:

       I'm glad to see he's getting a hero's funeral.

  Before he was buried at Arlington, a memorial service was held in 
Robert's honor at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Cleveland. Robert's 
cousin, Richard Samkas, said he and Robert grew up like brothers, and 
that he remembers him as a ``fun, outgoing kid [who] always had some 
things funny to say.'' After the memorial service, these were Richard's 
words:

       If there is any way I'd want someone to remember him, it's 
     his honor--the way he honored the military every time he put 
     on that uniform.

  The world is a better place because Robert lived among us. He was a 
young

[[Page S11251]]

man of courage and compassion, someone who served our Nation with honor 
and distinction. My wife Fran and I will continue to keep his family in 
our thoughts and in our prayers.


                      Lance Corporal Jeremy Shock

  Mr. President, this morning I come to the Senate floor to honor 
Marine LCpl Jeremy Shock. This Green Springs, OH, native died on 
November 19, 2006, when the vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised 
explosive device near Fallujah, Iraq. He was 22 years of age at the 
time.
  Jeremy had only been in Iraq since mid-September when the incident 
occurred. He served as a machine gunner while in Iraq and also repaired 
weapons in the armory.
  Friends and family said Jeremy always put others before himself. One 
of his former roommates Seth Mahon said this of Jeremy's selflessness:

       Jeremy was the greatest guy I ever met. . . . He was the 
     guy who, if he only had $5 and you needed it, he was going to 
     give it to you. He never asked for help. If you were having a 
     bad day, he would make it a good day.

  A 2002 graduate of Clyde High School, Jeremy was a lineman on the 
football team and set an example for his fellow classmates and 
teammates. During Jeremy's funeral, his uncles carried his football 
jersey and a football. The flag hung at half staff at the high school 
where his brother Zack is a sophomore and his sister Sara is a 
freshman. Jeremy's High School principal, Joe Webb, said this of Jeremy 
shortly after his funeral:

       Jeremy was a great kid. He was the type of kid that was a 
     leader through example. He would give you a great effort 
     every time. Whatever you asked him to do, you know he would 
     give his maximum effort and get it done. There's just no 
     better young man who's come through Clyde High School than 
     Jeremy Shock.
  That is what his high school principal said.
  After graduating from high school, Jeremy enrolled in Tiffin 
University. His friend Lacey Cherry remembers the first time she met 
him, a few days after they moved in at school. Jeremy, a large football 
player, would run around the dorms introducing himself to every person 
he met. Lacey said, ``Ever since then, we had been really, really 
close.''
  Jeremy's roommates at Tiffin, Seth Mahon and Jake Tidaback, remember 
how Jeremy was smart, how he worked hard, and how he always would make 
them laugh. They recall how important joining the Marines was to him. 
According to Jake, there was no one who could serve our country better 
than Jeremy. In his words:

       Jeremy was simply the typical best friend, the kid who 
     would be there whenever you needed him. He was always happy. 
     If you would be having a bad day, he would make it a good 
     day.

  Jeremy enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves prior to his senior year 
at Tiffin. He decided to join while he was interning for the 
International Criminal Police Organization in the summer of 2005. He 
then graduated with a degree in criminal justice in the spring of 2006.
  Jeremy always had a positive outlook on life--an attitude he 
maintained while serving in Iraq. He kept in touch with his former 
Tiffin roommates Seth and Jake through e-mail. They remember that while 
Jeremy would say that serving in Iraq had its ``ups and downs,'' he 
always concluded that things ``didn't seem too bad.'' As Seth said, 
``Jeremy just wasn't a very negative person.''
  Last April, Jeremy married Clara, his college sweetheart. The two met 
while they were both attending Tiffin. They were married while Jeremy 
was home for a 3-day leave. Bonnie Tiell, former assistant athletic 
director and tennis coach at Tiffin University, remembers how caring 
Jeremy was and how he loved Clara completely. Jeremy's family and 
friends remember how much he was looking forward to returning home so 
he could spend more time with her.
  During Jeremy's funeral, Clara read the last letter she wrote to him, 
and I would like to read an excerpt from that letter:

       You've made me the happiest woman on Earth. You always give 
     me support when I need it. Even when you're far away, you're 
     here for me. I really don't know yet what I'm going to do 
     without you in my life.

  Jeremy will be missed by all who knew him and all who loved him. As 
his former roommate Seth said:

       He will definitely be missed. He's taking a lot of hearts 
     with him.

  Jeremy was a humble man who never wanted to be in the spotlight. He 
took pride in serving his country, and he was someone full of purpose 
with a strong sense of duty. The military recognized Jeremy's 
leadership and his drive. He was honored with a National Defense 
Service medal and a certificate of commendation.
  I would like to conclude my remarks with the words from a prayer that 
was posted on an Internet tribute Web site in Jeremy's honor, and this 
is what it said:

       O Lord, into your hands, we humbly entrust our brother. In 
     this life, you embraced him with your tender love; deliver 
     him now from evil and bid him enter into eternal rest.

  My wife Fran and I continue to keep Jeremy and his wife Clara, his 
father and mother, Duane and Sherry, and his brother and sister, Zack 
and Sara, in our thoughts and in our prayers.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, first, I thank my colleague from Ohio. He 
has taken on a special responsibility for fallen soldiers from his 
State to come to the floor and pay tribute to each of them. It involves 
a great deal of work on his part to put together the record of their 
lives. It also involves a great deal of commitment on his part. He 
shows again to Members of the Senate that he is a man with great heart, 
and I know that he speaks not only for himself and his family but for 
all of us in extending our condolences to the 2,899 American soldiers 
who have fallen in the war in Iraq. I thank him for doing this on 
behalf of his State, and I join him in his salute.

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