[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 30 (Friday, February 16, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2121-S2122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the war in Iraq is the most important
issue of our time. The American people know that our soldiers are
serving nobly under extraordinarily difficult circumstances and that
far too many of them are making the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Citizens are calling on us--begging us--to address this issue with the
seriousness and the urgency it deserves.
The House of Representatives will vote later today on a major
resolution supporting our troops and opposing the escalation of the
war. It will be a historic vote and a clear response to the American
people's clarion call for change. The Senate will have a chance to do
so soon as well. The voices of the American people are growing louder
and louder, and the need for us to act could not be clearer.
Under the President's current policy, the war continues to impose an
enormous human toll on our soldiers, their families, and their loved
ones. Our men and women in uniform have served with great courage and
honor for nearly 4 years--longer than it took to win World War II. More
than 3,000 of our forces have been killed and more than 23,000 wounded.
The casualties keep mounting. Last fall was the deadliest period since
the war began. Mr. President, 287 American soldiers were killed in
October, November, and December. Already, 118 have been killed since
the President announced the surge, and the numbers keep rising.
The toll in Massachusetts has been heavy. Just last week, CPT
Jennifer Harris of Swampscott, MA, was killed when her helicopter went
down north of Baghdad. She was the first woman from our State to make
the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq, and our hearts and prayers go out to
her family and loved ones.
So far, 65 Massachusetts members of our forces have given the last
full measure of devotion to our country. The youngest was 19, the
oldest was 46. They died far from their homes in Bedford and Bristol,
Lawrence and Lowell, Plymouth and Pittsfield, Weymouth and Woburn, and
other towns and cities across the State. They were fathers, sons, a
daughter, brothers, and friends. Each of them represents a life cut
short in service to our country.
More than 3,000 families across America share in such heartbreak.
Their loved ones have died in Iraq, and we mourn their loss. We honor
their service, and we pray that God's grace and mercy may ease the
anguish of those they have left behind.
Citizens of Massachusetts have answered their country's call from the
first days of the Republic, and those we honor today are members of
that noble company. Each knew they were going into harm's way. They
faced dangers in Iraq that vast numbers of our troops had never seen
before, such as suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices.
We mourn the loss of these heroes. We honor their sacrifice and
extend our deepest condolences to their families. Words cannot ease the
grief of losing a loved one, but I hope the families may find comfort
in the words of Abraham Lincoln in the famous letter he sent to a
bereaved mother during the Civil War. He wrote:
Dear Madam, I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words
of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of
a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering
to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the
Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father
may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you
only the cherished memory of the loved and the lost, and the
solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a
sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
The consequences of the decisions we make here in Congress profoundly
affect our military, their families, and the communities they have
left. We have an obligation to our soldiers to make sensible decisions
that will not place them needlessly in harm's way.
We in Massachusetts feel especially deeply the loss of the 65
soldiers who have died in Iraq: SGT Justin W. Garvey; PFC John D. Hart;
SPC Christopher J. Holland; SGT Pierre A. Raymond; CPL Brian Oliveira;
LCpl Travis Reid Desiato; LCpl Dimitrios Gavriel; SGT Andrew Farrar;
1LT Brian McPhillips; SSG Joseph P. Belavia; LCpl John J. Vangyzen IV;
SGT Kurt D. Schamberg; CPT John W. Maloney; SPC Ray M. Fuhrmann II; 1SG
Alan N. Grifford; PVT Michael E. Bouthot; SPC Daniel R. Gionet; SGT
Gregory A. Belanger; PFC Kerry D. Scott; SGT Daniel J. Londono; CPL
David Marques Vincente; LCpl Jeffrey Charles Burgess; LCpl Alexander
Scott Arrendodo; 1LT Travis John Fuller; CPT Benjamin Sammis; CWO2
Stephen M. Wells; SPC Matthew Boule; CWO Kyran E. Kennedy; CPT
Christopher J. Sullivan; LCpl Shayne Cabino; LTC Leon G. James, II; CPT
Joel E. Cahill; LCpl Michael Ford; CPL Scott Procopio; LCpl Patrick
Gallagher; CPL Donald E. Fisher II; SPC Gabriel T. Palacios; SGT
Benjamin E. Mejia; SGT Glenn R. Allison; GySgt Elia Paietta Fontecchio;
LCpl Andrew Zabierek; LCpl Nickolas David Schiavoni; SPC Daniel F.
Cunningham; LCpl Gregory E. MacDonald; SPC Peter G. Enos; PFC Norman
Darling; PVT Cory R. Depew; SSG Joseph Camara; SGT Charles Caldwell;
PFC Markus J. Johnson; SPC David J. Babineau; CPL Paul N. King; LCpl
Geoffrey R. Cayer; SGT Mark R. Vecchione; SSG Clint J. Storey; SPC
Edgardo Zayas; LCpl Eric P. Valdepenas; SPC Jared J. Raymond; LCpl
Edward Garvin; LT Joshua Booth; SPC Matthew J. Stanley; SGT Gregory
Wright; SFC Keith Callahan; SGT Alexander H. Fuller; and CPT Jennifer
Harris.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the chart I have be
printed in the Record. It is a chart of their hometowns and where they
died in Iraq.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S2122]]
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Name Location of death Relationship to MA
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Sergeant Justin W. Garvey....... Tel Afar, Iraq.... Mother from
Townsend.
Private First Class John D. Hart Taza, Iraq........ Lived in Bedford.
Specialist Christopher J. Baghdad, Iraq..... Mother in
Holland. Lunenburg.
Sergeant Pierre A. Raymond...... Ar Ramadi, Iraq... Lived in Lawrence.
Corporal Brian Oliveira......... Al Anbar, Iraq.... Lived in Bristol.
Lance Corporal Travis Reid Fallujah, Iraq.... Lived in Bedford.
Desiato.
Lance Corporal Dimitrios Gavriel Fallujah, Iraq.... Parents in
Haverhill.
Sergeant Andrew Farrar.......... Al Anbar Province, Lived in Weymoth.
Iraq.
First Lieutenant Brian Baghdad, Iraq..... Lived in Pembroke.
McPhillips.
Staff Sergeant Joesph P. Belavia Karbala, Iraq..... Lived in
Wakefield.
Lcpl John J. Vangyzen IV........ Al Anbar Province, Lived in Bristol.
Iraq.
Sergeant Kurt D. Schamberg...... Iraq.............. Father in Melrose.
Captain John W. Maloney......... Ar Ramadi, Iraq... Lived in Chicopee.
Specialist Ray M. Fuhrmann II... Samarra, Iraq..... Lived in
Attleboro.
First Sergeant Alan N. Grifford. Baghdad, Iraq..... Parents in West
Wareham.
Pvt. Michael E. Bouthot......... Baghdad, Iraq..... Lived in Fall
River.
Specialist Daniel R. Gionet..... Baghdad, Iraq..... Father in Lowell.
Sgt. Gregory A. Belanger........ Al Hallia, Iraq... Parents from MA.
Private First Class Kerry D. Iskandirayh, Iraq. Mother in
Scott. Worcester.
Sergeant Daniel J. Londono...... Baghdad, Iraq..... Parents in
Dorchester.
Corporal David Marques Vicente.. Hit, Iraq......... Lived in Methuen.
Lance Corporal Jeffrey Charles Al Fallujah, Iraq. Lived in Plymouth.
Burgess.
Lance Corporal Alexander Scott Najaf, Iraq....... Lived in Randolph.
Arrendodo.
First Lieutenant Travis John Korean Village, Lived in
Fuller. Iraq. Granville.
Captain Benjamin Sammis......... Central Iraq...... Raised in
Rehoboth.
Chief Warrant Officer Two Habbinayah, Iraq.. Parents in North
Stephen M. Wells. Egremont.
Specialist Matthew Boule........ Iraq.............. Raised in Dracut.
Chief Warrant Officer Kyran E. Tikrit, Iraq...... Parents in Boston.
Kennedy.
Captain Christopher J. Sullivan. Baghdad, Iraq..... Lived in
Princeton.
Lance Corporal Shayne Cabino.... Al Karmah, Iraq... Lived in Canton.
Lt. Col. Leon G. James II....... Ar Rustamiyah, Mother in
Iraq. Longmeadow.
Capt. Joel E. Cahill............ Dawr, Iraq........ Lived in Norwood.
Lance Corporal Michael Ford..... Al Anbar, Iraq.... From New Bedford.
Cpl. Scott Procopio............. Al Anbar, Iraq.... Lived in Saugus.
Lance Cpl. Patrick Gallagher.... Al Anbar, Iraq.... Mother and father
live in MA.
Corporal Donald E. Fisher II.... Kirkuk, Iraq...... Lived in Brockton.
Specialist Gabriel T. Palacios.. Ba'qubah, Iraq.... Father from Lynn.
Sergeant Benjamin E. Mejia...... Marez, Iraq....... Lived in Salem.
Sergeant Glenn R. Allison....... Baghdad, Iraq..... Mother in
Pittsfield.
Gunnery Sergeant Elia Paietta Al Anbar Province, Lived in Milford.
Fontecchio. Iraq.
Lance Corporal Andrew Zabierek.. Al Anbar Province, Lived in
Iraq. Chelmsford.
Lance Corporal Nickolas David Al Karmah, Iraq... From Haverhill.
Schiavoni.
Specialist Daniel F. Cunningham. Iraq.............. Lived in Revere.
Lance Corporal Gregory E. Iraq.............. Parents from MA.
MacDonald.
Specialist Peter G. Enos........ Bayji, Iraq....... Lived in Plymouth.
Pfc. Norman Darling............. Iraq.............. Lived in
Watertown.
Private Cory R. Depew........... Mosul, Iraq....... Father in
Haverhill.
Staff Sergeant Joseph Camara.... Baghdad, Iraq..... Lived in New
Bedford.
Sgt. Charles Caldwell........... Iraq.............. Lived in
Attleboro.
Pfc. Markus J. Johnson.......... AI Anbar Province, Lived in
Iraq. Springfield.
Spc. David J. Babineau.......... Baghdad, Iraq..... Parents in
Springfield.
Cpl. Paul N. King............... Al Anbar Province, Tyngsboro, Mass.
Iraq.
LC. Geoffrey R. Cayer........... Habbinayah, Iraq.. Fitchburg, MA.
Sgt. Mark R. Vecchione.......... Ar Ramadi, Iraq... Eastham, MA.
Staff Sergeant Clint J. Storey.. Ar Ramadi, Iraq... Wife/daughter in
Palmer, MA.
Spc. Edgardo Zayas.............. Baghdad, Iraq..... Parents in
Dorchester, MA.
Lance Corporal Eric P. AI Anbar Province, Seekonk, MA.
Valdepenas. Iraq.
Specialist Jared J. Raymond..... Taji, Iraq........ Swampscott, MA
(mother).
LCPL Edward Garvin.............. Al Anbar Province, Malden, MA.
Iraq.
Lt. Joshua Booth................ Fallujah, Iraq.... Fiskdale, MA.
Specialist Matthew J. Stanley... Taji, Iraq........ Father and Wife in
MA.
Sgt. Gregory Wright............. Muadadivah, Iraq.. Father in Boston.
MA.
Sgt. 1st Class Keith Callahan... South of Baghdad.. Mother in Woburn.
Sgt. Alexander H. Fuller........ Baghdad, Iraq..... Wife in
Centerville.
Captian Jennifer Harris......... Al Anbar Province, Lived in
Iraq. Swampscott, MA.
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The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wisconsin.
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