[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 112 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1510-E1511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF SGT KEITH KLINE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2007

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate SGT Keith 
Allen Kline, born and raised in Oak Harbor, Ohio, and whose life was 
tragically cut short when he died in service in Iraq. He was mortally 
wounded while on patrol in Baghdad on July 5, 2007. Over the weekend 
his community will honor his memory and comfort his family, and 
Sergeant Kline will be laid to rest in Oak Harbor's Union Cemetery on 
Monday, July 16, 2007.
  In his poem the ``Psalm of Life'', Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes:

     WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST

     . . . Life is real! Life is earnest!
     And the grave is not its goal;
     Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
     Was not spoken of the soul.

     . . . In the world's broad field of battle,
     In the bivouac of Life,
     Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
     Be a hero in the strife!

     . . . Lives of great men all remind us
     We can make our lives sublime,
     And, departing, leave behind us
     Footprints on the sands of time;--

     Footprints, that perhaps another,
     Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
     A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
     Seeing, shall take heart again.

     Let us, then, be up and doing,
     With a heart for any fate;
     Still achieving, still pursuing,
     Learn to labor and to wait.

  Sergeant Kline lived the spirit of this message and the poem's words 
serve as an epitaph as we recall his life and honor his ultimate 
sacrifice.
  Keith Kline graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2002. A talented 
wrestler, he also played soccer and football and participated in school 
plays. He enlisted in the United States Army following his graduation. 
At Fort Gordon, Georgia, he completed his Advanced Individual Training 
and was assigned to Bravo Company, 96th Civil Air Battalion, 95th Civil 
Affairs Brigade. In Iraq 3 months, he was assigned to the Civil Affairs 
Team supporting the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. In 
his brief career his distinguished service brought him four Army 
Achievement Medals, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal, 
National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary 
Medal and Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Basic Parachutist 
Badge. His death

[[Page E1511]]

brought him the posthumous award of the Purple Heart Award, Bronze Star 
Medal, and Combat Action Badge.

  More than a soldier, Keith Kline was known as ``a good hearted person 
that was full of life, and a very hard worker.'' He was a NASCAR fan, 
he reveled in family get-togethers and his favorite holiday was July 
4th. Cherishing his memory and celebrating the gift of his life are his 
mother Betty and brother John, his stepfather, grandparents, aunts, 
uncles and cousins. We offer them our sincere condolences and heartfelt 
gratitude as they struggle through this difficult time. May they find 
comfort in their loved one's memory and recall the words of 
Ecclesiastes 3:1, ``To everything there is a season, and a time to 
every purpose under Heaven.''

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