[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 3 (Monday, January 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S223-S224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                     Corpsman Christopher Anderson

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise to reflect for a moment on the 
service and sacrifice of Navy Hospital Corpsman Christopher Anderson of 
Longmont, CO. Corpsman Anderson was killed in Iraq last month in the 
volatile Al Anbar province in service to this Nation. He was only 24, 
and was laid to rest late last month in Arlington National Cemetery 
here in our Nation's Capital.
  In Longmont, they bade farewell to Hospital Corpsman Anderson with 
all appropriate honors that this Nation, his community and his family 
could bestow: A Purple Heart and 21-gun salute, a release of doves, and 
hundreds lining the streets to pay their final respects to a young man 
taken from this life all too soon.
  Serving as a Navy Corpsman with a unit of Marines is no easy task. 
The job dates back to the Spanish-American War, and is an incredibly 
dangerous job which entails carrying a loaded weapon along with the 
tools of your trade: Saving lives.
  The marines I have had the privilege of knowing are all proud, brave 
and honorable men whose respect must be earned through hard work. For a 
Corpsman, the title of ``Doc'' comes only when you have earned the 
respect of your Marine unit, when they are prepared to risk their lives 
for you as they would one of their own, because they know with absolute 
conviction that you would do the same.
  One fellow Navy Corpsman reflected on the honor of this title, saying 
of the Marines, ``If they yell, `Corpsman up,' they know Doc is going 
to be right there. . . . When the Marines call you `Doc,' you know 
you'll never let them down, you'll never leave their side. That bond 
between a Marine and a Navy corpsman is something that will last 
forever. We call them `My Marines'--they call us `My Doc.' ''
  Navy Hospital Corpsman Christopher Anderson was ``Doc'' to his 
marines.
  For Christopher Anderson, service was always in his blood. He was an 
uncommon young man of steady nerves and a unique ability to inspire 
others to find greatness in themselves. When he graduated Longmont High 
School in 2000, he sought a way to make a difference in the world, and 
had considered becoming a police officer or firefighter. His 
grandfather observed, ``If he saw a wreck on the side of the road, he 
was the first to stop and help.''
  And then in 2005, a higher calling of service reached out to 
Christopher: America. When Christopher enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 
August, 2005, he was the fourth generation of his family to join the 
service. And he carried on his family tradition with honor and 
distinction.
  Throughout training and during his service, Hospital Corpsman 
Anderson met every challenge with excellence. At his boot camp 
graduation, Corpsman Anderson was voted by his peers the ``honor 
graduate'' of his class, the premier member of his class. He sought 
advanced combat medic training and volunteered for an assignment to the 
front lines in Iraq. When one of his sergeants was injured by an IED in 
Iraq, a surgeon commented that Corpsman Anderson's emergency medical 
treatment was the finest he had ever seen.
  A marine will tell you that he will always take a bullet for his Doc, 
because his Doc is the only one who can take it back out. Hospital 
Corpsman Christopher Anderson sacrificed his life for this Nation 
because he knew that our Nation needed his service. He accepted these 
great risks with a smile and extraordinary courage from which all of us 
can take a lesson. He sacrificed himself for the ideals of his country. 
It is a debt which we cannot repay, and a loss we cannot replace. And 
we are all humbled by his service and sacrifice.
  To Christopher's parents, Rick and Debra, his brother Kyle, I know 
that no words can describe or assuage the pain you feel. I pray that 
you can find comfort in the knowledge that Christopher was doing 
something which he truly loved, and of which he was extraordinarily 
proud. He will endure in our hearts and prayers.


                     Lance Corporal Nicklas Palmer

  Mr. President, I rise to commemorate the life and service of a young 
marine from Leadville, CO: Marine LCpl Nicklas James Palmer. Lance 
Corporal Palmer was killed last month in Fallujah, Iraq.
  Nick Palmer was only 19 years old when he was taken from his family 
in Iraq. But he was serving his Nation with honor and distinction as a 
marine, something he had dreamed of doing as a high school student in 
Lake County.
  Nick Palmer came to the State of Colorado as a boy, and in 2005 when 
he graduated from Lake County High School, he was a man prepared to 
find his place in the world. In high school, Nick was a football player 
who lettered all 4 years with the Lake County High varsity squad, a 
lineman to be precise.
  I have known a few linemen in my day, and it tells us all something 
about his character and why he was drawn to the Marine Corps: Nick 
Palmer was a man who knew that there was tough work to be done, that it 
required leadership, physical skill and courage and that he was the 
right man for the job.
  The Marine Corps was a natural fit for Nick Palmer. It was physical 
and independent, and allowed him the opportunity to become a leader. In 
fact, Nick prepared for Marine Corps boot camp by taking 10-mile runs 
with a 40-pound pack on his back, determined to be the finest recruit 
at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.
  That is a lineman's mentality, and it is the steel at the very core 
of the U.S. Marine Corps: Through discipline, one achieves excellence.
  Nick Palmer was not solely a man of serious character. His family, 
classmates, teachers, and community all reflected that he was a young 
man who always had a smile for a friend and saw the laughs to be had in 
life. He was a loyal friend, an independent young man who was always 
prepared to lend a hand or take the lead.
  Lance Corporal Palmer was anxious to get to Iraq, to begin his 
service to his Nation. His time with the Marine Corps was marked by his 
continuing leadership: Lance Corporal Palmer's commanding officer in 
Iraq noted that he was never afraid to step forward and say, ``I'll do 
it.''
  It was that spirit that moved Nick Palmer to serve this Nation in the 
first place as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. His character, 
leadership, and courage exemplified that sacred motto of the Marines: 
Semper Fi. Always Faithful.
  To Nick's mother and father, Brad and Rachele, and his brother 
Dustin, know that you and Nick will remain in the thoughts and prayers 
of an entire Nation. We are honored by his service, we are humbled by 
his sacrifice, and we are forever grateful for his courage and 
character.


                    Private First Class Seth Stanton

  Mr. President, I rise to reflect on the loss of a Coloradan and 
member of the U.S. Armed Forces, Army PFC Seth

[[Page S224]]

Stanton. Private First Class Stanton was fatally wounded late last 
month in Taji, Iraq, when a roadside bomb exploded beneath his vehicle. 
He was only 19 years old.
  In June 2005, after graduating from Coronado High School in Colorado 
Springs, he enlisted in the Army. At the time the improvised explosive 
device destroyed the humvee in which he was riding, had been in Iraq 
for 2 months.
  Seth Stanton was a young man who, as his uncle noted, lived every 
minute of his life to the fullest. He was an outstanding student who 
was skipped all the way up to the 12th grade, ahead of his age, after 
being home schooled for many years.
  And he loved off-roading in his prized Jeep Cherokee with its heavy-
duty suspension and oversized tires rumbling across our state's rugged 
terrain. He even bragged to his friends about how four fellow service 
members told him one day ``how illegal my Jeep is.''
  As a man, Seth Stanton had many opportunities ahead of him. But 
instead of choosing to attend college or join the workforce, Seth 
Stanton chose a different path: the U.S. Army. Private First Class 
Stanton knew that his Nation, and the people of Iraq, needed his 
service and support, and he bravely stepped forward and volunteered for 
this challenging duty.
  Private First Class Stanton didn't choose to follow this path, as his 
grandmother Georgell noted, out of politics or economics or some other 
motive. He chose it because he knew in his heart it was the right thing 
to do: dedicate himself to a cause greater than his own.
  The tragedy of a life of such promise going unrealized affects 
everyone in this body, and in this Nation, but not as deeply or 
personally as it will move his parents Stephen and Anna or the rest of 
his family. Every American mourns your loss with you, and Seth's 
courage and sacrifice will be honored always.
  Chapter Five of the Book of Matthew chronicles that, in his Sermon on 
the Mount, Jesus tells us, ``Blessed are the peacemakers: for they 
shall be called the children of God.'' I hope that this brings you 
solace in the coming days, with the knowledge that He holds Seth close, 
and blesses his character and sacrifice.


                      Staff Sergeant David Staats

  Mr. President, I rise to call the Nation's attention to a service 
member whom we lost late last month in service to our country.
  Army SSgt David Staats was killed in Taji, Iraq, when a roadside bomb 
detonated beneath his vehicle. Staff Sergeant Staats epitomized the 
spirit of service to his Nation. He was only a few weeks into his third 
tour in Iraq. He was a young man, only 30 years old, with his entire 
life ahead of him. He leaves behind his wife Meagan, his 8-year-old son 
Tyler, and stepdaughter, Katie.
  He heard the call to serve his country early on, enlisting in the 
Army before he even graduated from high school in 1995. After his 
second tour, in which he was stationed in Kuwait and Iraq, he briefly 
left the service. But soldiering was in his blood, the core of who he 
was, and he reenlisted after only a year away from the Army.
  In his service in Iraq, Staff Sergeant Staats was upholding the 
global values of human dignity, freedom and liberty. He did so not for 
glory or praise, but because he had absolute confidence in his values 
and his mission to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
  Staff Sergeant Staats' mother said it best: ``He was doing what he 
thought he should do.''
  David Staats was a loving son, husband and father, too. He treasured 
the time he spent with his son Tyler and his stepdaughter Katie, and 
was an adoring husband to his wife Meagan.
  President Abraham Lincoln famously once said, ``In the end, it's not 
the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.'' The 
loss of David Staats was sudden, and tragic. It reminds each America of 
the gravity of that which we ask of our service members, and the brief 
nature of our time on this Earth.
  But in his service to our Nation and his family, David Staats lived a 
life of honor, courage, character and distinction to which every 
American can look with respect and admiration.
  To Meagan, Tyler, and Katie, to David's parents Roger and Wanda, and 
his sister Bethany, I hope that this knowledge can help ease the 
painful sorrow each of you feel. While your anguish from his loss may 
never fully pass, I hope that you can take comfort in the knowledge 
that David's service and sacrifice on behalf of each and every American 
will be forever honored by a humble and grateful Nation.

                          ____________________