[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 87 (Friday, May 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO LANCE CORPORAL BEN DESILETS

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                            HON. RAY LAHOOD

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2007

  Mr. LaHOOD. Madam Speaker, I submit the following article for the 
Record.

                  Elmwood: City Mourns Loss of Marine

       Elmwood.--The city continued to grieve the loss of part of 
     its ``family'' Wednesday, mourning the death of Lance Cpl. 
     Ben Desilets, killed in action in Iraq.
       ``What people don't understand about Elmwood, it's a 
     family. When we lose one person, we all lose,'' said Elmwood 
     High School English teacher Cathy Meyers.
       Nearly every flag in Elmwood was flying at half-mast to 
     honor Desilets.
       The 2004 Elmwood High School graduate and another Marine 
     were killed Tuesday in the Anbar province of western Iraq, 
     where Desilets was deployed with 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine 
     Regiment. Officials with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force 
     in Camp Lejeune, NC., declined to comment on how he died 
     except to say it was during combat operations.
       A statement from the family stated Desilets, 21, had been 
     behind the wheel of a Humvee when he died in the early 
     morning hours. The other Marine was Cpl Julian M. Woodall, 
     21, of Tallahassee, Fla.
       ``He thought he was doing good,'' said his mother, Brenda 
     Desilets. ``I was proud of him. It made him grow up a lot.''
       Desilets had been in the Marines since September 2004. He 
     joined, in part, to support his 3-year-old daughter, Kyra.
       It was Desilets' second tour in Iraq.

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