[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 113 (Monday, July 16, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H7824-H7825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1945
                          SERGEANT KEITH KLINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to commemorate the life of 
Sergeant Keith Allen Kline, born and raised in Oak Harbor, Ohio.
  Sergeant Kline was serving his second tour of duty when he was 
mortally wounded while on patrol in Baghdad on July 5, 2007, the day 
after the 4th of July, his favorite holiday. Today, Sergeant Kline was 
laid to rest following a fitting and moving ceremony at his alma mater 
Oak Harbor High School. Through my words this evening, America honors 
his memory and comforts his family. After the ceremony today, he was 
laid to rest at Oak Harbor's Union Cemetery.

[[Page H7825]]

  In his poem, the Psalm of Life, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes:
  ``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. The poem's words 
served 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 placed in the top six wrestlers in Ohio during his high 
school years, a truly magnificent achievement from a large State like 
Ohio. He also played soccer and football and participated in school 
plays. He enlisted in the U.S. Army post-9/11 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, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal, 
National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary 
medal and Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Basic Parachutist 
Badge. His death 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 goodhearted person 
that was full of life and a very hard worker. Every single individual 
who paid him tribute this morning used the term ``a man of great 
heart.'' He was a NASCAR fan, too, and he reveled in family get-
togethers. And his favorite holiday, as I mentioned, was the 4th of 
July.
  Cherishing his memory and celebrating the gift of life are his mother 
Betty, brother John, stepfather, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, 
and true friends he held close to his heart. We offer them our sincere 
condolences and heartfelt gratitude as they struggle through this very 
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.''
  Today, America salutes Sergeant Keith Kline, a valiant son of our 
Republic, for his patriotism, for his excellence in service, for his 
courage, and for loving us more than he loved life itself.

                          ____________________