[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 130 (Wednesday, September 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ARMY SERGENT GARRETT I. McLEAD; SOUTH TEXAN LOST IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 5, 2007

  Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, since this House last met, another South 
Texan from the Coastal Bend area has fallen in battle in Iraq, and I 
ask my colleagues to join me in honoring this life lost in the service 
of our nation.
  Army SGT Garrett I. McLead, 23, from Rockport, Texas, was assigned to 
the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, 
Schofield Barracks, in Hawaii. While many people across the nation were 
starting school, enjoying vacation, or just taking advantage of the 
last weeks before Labor Day, Sgt. McLead was killed on August 22, 2007, 
in a Black Hawk helicopter crash during a night mission 180 miles north 
of Baghdad, in Multaka, Iraq, near the city of Kirkuk.
  Sergeant McLead is survived by his parents, Patrick and Patty, and by 
the larger family of Aransas Pass and San Patricio County in South 
Texas.
  Madam Speaker, each time we lose a soldier--a member of our American 
family--we lose a little piece of ourselves. Each time, it is just 
unbearable. Let me tell you more about this noble patriot who gave the 
last full measure of devotion to the nation he loved.
  Sergeant McLead drew his strength from his faith, and was a natural 
athlete, excelling in surfing, tennis and soccer while he was in high 
school. He also played the saxophone in his high school band. He had a 
winning smile and a talent for life.
  He was an adventure seeker, tempered by the national shock of 9-11. 
The searing pain of the attack moved him from happy-go-lucky teenager 
to a determined warrior at warp speed. He deferred a dream of modeling 
or acting when our nation was attacked on 9-11, and the country called 
all patriots for service in the U.S. military.
  Rather than opting for Hollywood, his handsome face was assigned to 
Afghanistan in service of finding and tracking down the terrorists who 
attacked the United States. Iraq was soon opened as a second war, and 
he served the nation in uniform in Iraq as well. He was close to coming 
home, but his tour was extended.
  Everyone in the greater South Texas community will miss him, but 
nobody will miss him like his family. We mourn with this family; we 
lift up our broken hearts in gratitude to his family, and we all want 
to see our soldiers come home from these wars.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House to join me in honoring Army Sergeant 
McLead and his service on behalf of the United States, and to offer our 
thanks and our deepest sympathy to the family of this warrior, who gave 
the last full measure of devotion to our nation and the United States 
Army.

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