[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MOURNING THE DEATH OF MAJ JOSEPH ``TRANE'' McCLOUD

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2006

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to mourn the death of 
Major Joseph ``Trane'' McCloud, 39, who was planning to celebrate his 
40th birthday next week, but instead tragically died on Sunday, 
December 3, when the CH-46 helicopter he was riding in crash-landed in 
a lake in the Anbar province of Iraq. Additionally, I urge my 
colleagues to mourn the deaths and honor the lives of all of our 
soldiers who have died defending our country.
  Major McCloud was a career marine who had been in Iraq for 3 months 
as the operations officer with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. 
Major McCloud was described by his family as ``a Marine's Marine.'' He 
sacrificed the most active years of his life while in armed combat as a 
platoon and company commander defending the United States of America.
  This was the second war in the Middle East that Major McCloud had 
served in. His service in the Persian Gulf war in 1991 was equally 
commendable. During the Persian Gulf war in 1991, McCloud served on the 
USS Missouri, as part of the final group of Marines to work aboard the 
ship before it was decommissioned.
  Major McCloud's tremendous service to his country was not limited to 
the Armed Forces. He also worked at the Pentagon, completed a 
fellowship here in the U.S. House of Representatives, and served as an 
instructor at the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, 
VA. His dedication to teaching was just as strong as his dedication to 
the protection of this Nation. When Major McCloud worked for 
Representative Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), he assisted on military issues and 
took a special interest in a loan forgiveness program for inner-city 
teachers. This gentleman was the absolute prototype of the 
compassionate and dedicated soldier.
  Shortly after President Bush declared the war on terrorism, McCloud 
was deployed to Zamboanga, in the Philippines, in charge of a small 
Marine unit during a time of intense violence and bombings.
  McCloud was remembered yesterday as a good-natured man with a 
wonderful sense of humor who cherished his family above anything else.
  A 1989 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Major McCloud leaves 
behind his wife Maggie and three children: Hayden, 7, Grace, 5, and 
Meghan, 2.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to mourn the death of a great 
soldier, husband, and father, MAJ Joseph ``Trane'' McCloud, and all the 
soldiers who have fallen while defending our Nation's freedom.

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