[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF LT. COL. DAVID C. CANEGATA III

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN

                         of the virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2007

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of a 
family man, a soldier, and a friend, LTC David C. Canegata III who was 
killed in Iraq on January 20 when the Black Hawk helicopter in which he 
and 11 of his colleagues were flying went down over Baghdad.
  My district, the U.S. Virgin Islands mourned the loss of Lietenant 
Colonel Canegata and his fellow Virgin Islander SFC Floyd Lake for they 
were among the best and brightest of our National Guardsmen who have 
served their country faithfully in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo 
Bay, Cuba since the onset of hostilities on September 11.
  The gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verse 13 states that ``Greater love 
than this has no man, but that he lay down his life for his friends.'' 
Lietutenant Colonel Canegata, who was a man of faith, has given us the 
greatest gift of all, the gift of love, through his service and 
sacrifice.
  I knew David, or ``Tershie'' as he was affectionately called, since 
his early childhood as our families were close and his cousins were my 
best friends and so his passing is a very painful, personal loss.
  David left a wonderful legacy of devotion to family, community, the 
National Guard, and his church. In his short life, he touched the lives 
of many in different parts of the world, but more than anything else, 
he was a father, who while giving his all to his own, extended his 
nurturing and love to the young people of his church and community. His 
brothers and sisters in arms, his National Guard family, remember him 
as a source of strength and inspiration and leadership.
  On behalf of my family, staff, and the Congress of the United States, 
I extend our heartfelt sympathy and eternal gratitude to his wife, 
Shenneth, his parents David and Carmen, his children Nicole, David-
Mychal, Andre, and Jessica, his siblings Diane, Terry, Yvette, and 
John, the entire Canegata clan, Speak the Word Ministries and his 
National Guard family. His life, and the loving, caring man of God that 
he became is a beautiful and enduring tribute to you, the family that 
nurtured him.
  We all loved him, but now he is with the One who can love him more 
perfectly than we ever could.
  David fought, defended, and protected us in war, but he was a man of 
peace. We honor him, we thank him, and we will never forget him, his 
ultimate sacrifice and the love he gave in the most profound way to all 
of us.
  May he rest in Eternal Peace.

                          ____________________