[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5160-S5161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                       sergeant joseph m. tackett

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask the Senate to pause for a moment 
today in loving memory and honor of Sgt. Joseph M. Tackett of 
Whitehouse, KY. Sergeant Tackett was tragically killed on June 23, 
2005, in Baghdad while serving his country in the U.S. Army. He was 22 
years old, and the recipient of numerous awards including the Bronze 
Star.
  Not long after Sergeant Tackett's death, his body returned home to 
Johnson County, KY, and family, neighbors and friends came to pay their 
respects at his flag-draped casket in the Johnson County Middle School 
gymnasium. Even the kindergarten students at his old elementary school 
to whom he wrote letters remembered him that day as a friend and a 
hero.
  Joe ``was just very excited and enthusiastic about protecting a 
country he loved,'' says Nellie Bowen, Joe's third-grade teacher. ``He 
had a pride in our country that we sometimes miss.''
  It was Ms. Bowen's class of kindergartners that Sergeant Tackett 
wrote to, becoming their overseas pen pal even while serving in Iraq. 
He replied to every letter they sent him, and even came to the school 
to speak to the children after his first tour of duty.
  Mr. President, when you know this about Sergeant Tackett, you can see 
why so many in Johnson County turned out to support the Tackett family 
after the loss of their brother and son.
  That Sergeant Tackett excelled in the Army is no surprise. He 
embraced his duty to serve with the same vigor and passion he displayed 
for so many activities in his short but full life.
  ``He looked at everything with enthusiasm,'' Joe's mother, Kathy 
Tackett, tells us. ``He was so looking forward to the future, [and] he 
was always planning for the future.''
  As a child, Joe turned this infectious enthusiasm to many activities, 
including music. He was the singer for a Christian band and also a 
budding entrepreneur.
  High-profile musicians didn't often include Whitehouse on their 
tours. But Joe filled the gap by producing rock concerts locally, 
showcasing local bands.
  His love for music persisted to his time in Iraq. While there, he 
befriended Iraqi college students and introduced them to American rock 
music. Joe made friends so easily this way, he even exchanged emails 
with Iraqis while back home in Kentucky between tours.
  Joe graduated from Johnson Central High School in 2000 and even then 
held dreams of one day becoming a soldier. He attended Big Sandy 
Community and Technical College, and then the terrorist attacks of 9/11 
happened. Joe enlisted a month later.
  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th 
Brigade Combat Team of the Third Infantry Division based at Fort 
Stewart, GA. He saw the Army as a way to learn new things and gain new 
experiences, and he devoured each new experience with excitement.
  Sent to Iraq and Afghanistan for his first tour of duty, Joe learned 
new skills and new proficiencies. He took online classes while serving 
in Iraq to get his college degree. He took any training that became 
available and was always open to opportunities for self-improvement.
  ``Joe wanted to travel . . . he was curious about other countries, 
other lands,'' Kathy Tackett says. Joe called his mother once from the 
Middle East telling her he was standing in a mosque. ``There's not many 
people who have ever done this, Mom,'' she remembers him saying with 
pride.
  Sergeant Tackett was deployed a second time in January 2005. His 
assignment was to escort visiting dignitaries through the heavily 
fortified Green Zone in Baghdad. Even while undertaking this important 
mission, he still found time to write e-mails to his family back home. 
``He was interested in so many things,'' Kathy Tackett recalls. ``I 
can't imagine the person that he would have become, if he would've had 
more years.''
  Sergeant Tackett's families may never know the answer to that 
question. But I think we know Joe would have tackled anything he did 
with energy and with enthusiasm, as he did throughout his life.
  Sergeant Tackett leaves behind a loving family. He is loved and 
remembered by his mother, Kathy, his father, Wendell, his brother, Sam, 
his sister, Michelle Spencer, his nieces Hailey Tackett and Shawna 
Spencer, and other beloved family members.
  Mr. President, no words we can say today will ease the pain of the 
Tackett

[[Page S5161]]

family. I know they are still searching for answers. But I hope the 
reverence and respect this Senate shows Sergeant Tackett will remind 
them that he lived and served as a hero, and his country will forever 
honor and remember his sacrifice.
  I ask my colleagues to keep the family of SGT Joseph M. Tackett in 
their thoughts and prayers. I know they will be in mine.

                          ____________________