[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 133 (Monday, September 10, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    Private First Class Dane Balcon

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to reflect on the 
life and service of a fallen Coloradan: PFC Dane Balcon of Colorado 
Springs.
  Private Balcon graduated from Sand Creek High School in 2006, joined 
the Army, and was deployed to Iraq in July with the 3rd Brigade, 1st 
Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood, TX. Private Balcon was killed last 
Wednesday alongside CPL William T. Warford, III, of Temple, TX, when a 
roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle. Dane Balcon was 19 years 
old.
  Private Balcon was looking forward to a long career in the military. 
Since he was 3 years old he dreamed of being a soldier, of following 
the path of service that his father, John Balcon, and his mother, Carla 
Sizer, chose. Dane was eager for the opportunity to serve in Iraq, and 
was dismayed when his unit's deployment was delayed. He knew that the 
longer he was at Fort Hood, the longer another soldier would have to 
stay in theater. ``Every day I stay at Fort Hood,'' he told his mother, 
``someone is away from their family.'' He wanted to get into the fight 
and lift his weight, so that the weight on others might be lifted.
  Dane's loss has left a hole for his community, his friends, and his 
family that no words can ever fill. At Sand Creek High School, Dane's 
friends remember a young man dedicated to his future in the military. 
He joined the ROTC program, was in the drum line, and had a voracious 
appetite for learning the soldier's craft.
  His charm won him widespread admiration and friendship. His habit of 
playing his drumsticks alongside an imaginary chorus during the school 
day exasperated his teachers, but his jokes would gain their smiles, 
and his heart would earn their respect. When he deployed in July, their 
thoughts and prayers, like those of his classmates, friends, and 
family, were with him.
  The values that led Private Balcon to enlist and to serve on the 
battlefields of Iraq are the values that have guided American soldiers 
for more than two centuries. ``Duty, honor, country,'' GEN Douglas 
MacArthur told young soldiers at West Point in 1962, ``these are the 
words that dictate what a soldier wants to be, can be, and will be. . . 
. They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but 
humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not 
to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of 
difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to 
have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek 
to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; 
to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the 
future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take 
yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the 
simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the 
meekness of true strength.''
  PVT Dane Balcon, who dreamt of serving his country and of devoting 
his life to its protection, embodied this creed. He donned the 
soldier's uniform at the first opportunity, he showed his bravery on 
the battlefield, and he perished in service.
  Duty, honor, country, GEN MacArthur's ``hallowed words'' characterize 
Private Balcon's sacrifice. They are the values of America's great 
soldiers, the giants to whom we owe our freedom. Theirs is a debt we 
cannot repay.
  To Carla and John, I cannot imagine the sorrow that you are feeling 
with the loss of your son. I hope that in time your grief will be 
salved by your pride in your son's extraordinary dedication to service. 
Dane served the Nation with honor and dignity. His sacrifice will never 
be forgotten.


                   Chief Warrant Officer Scott Oswell

  Mr. President, I rise today to reflect on the life, service, and 
sacrifice of CWO Scott Oswell, who died on July 4 when his helicopter 
went down in Mosul, Iraq. Chief Oswell was on his second tour of duty 
in Iraq, piloting OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters with the 4th 
Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry out of Fort Lewis. He was 33.
  Scott grew up the son of an Army officer and was a stoic servant of 
the greater good. He joined the Marines soon after graduating from Air 
Academy High School in Colorado Springs, CO. He later transferred to 
the Army, where he became a helicopter pilot and, in 2006, earned his 
instructor rating.
  At his funeral at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, friends and 
family spoke of Scott's devotion to his family and to his service. He 
was ``family man'' to his wife, Cheri, and to his three children, 
Caitlyn, Amanda, and Ian. He was a patient ``big brother'' to the 
pilots he taught. And he was a brave soldier to those with whom he 
served in Iraq, willing to risk his life to defeat an enemy or to lift 
others to safety.
  For his service to his country and his unit, and for his death on 
Independence Day on a mission to save another, Chief Oswell will always 
be remembered as a patriot. But he is also a patriot in a larger sense. 
Frances Wright, one of America's most famous lecturers, reminds us that 
patriotism is a virtue that characterizes an individual's dedication to 
the public good, to the preference of the interests of the many to the 
interests of the few, and to the love of liberty. ``A patriot,'' she 
told an Indiana crowd on July 4, 1828, ``is a useful member of society, 
capable of enlarging all minds and bettering all hearts with which he 
comes in contact; a useful member of the human family, capable of 
establishing fundamental principles and of merging his own interests, 
those of his associates, and those of his Nation in the interests of 
the human race.''
  Chief Oswell wore his patriotism with humility. He did the job, and 
he did it well amid the perils of war. At Scott's memorial service, a 
fellow soldier recalled how they flew out to examine a suspicious 
flicker of light along a supply route to Baghdad. Finding an insurgent 
with a rocket-propelled grenade in hand, Chief Oswell hovered within 
the enemy's range, committed to preventing an escape. ``This guy is not 
going to get away,'' he said.
  Even with the best training and preparation, keeping calm and 
composed in difficult circumstances demands something more from an 
individual. Chief Oswell had what it takes. His friends recall that on 
missions he would often sing popular children's songs. He was steady 
and stoic.
  CWO Scott Oswell sacrificed his life for this Nation as a patriot, in 
service to something larger than himself. He accepted the great risks 
of being a pilot with a smile and used his talents and temperament to 
teach others what he had learned. His extraordinary courage is a lesson 
to us all, a debt we cannot repay, a loss we cannot replace. He was a 
father, a teacher, a pilot, and a patriot. We are humbled by his 
service and his sacrifice.
  To Chief Oswell's wife Cheri, to his children, Caitlyn, Amanda, and 
Ian, and to his parents, Barry and Nancy, I know that even now, no 
words can fill the hole left by Scott's death. I pray that you can find 
comfort in knowing that he was always, and will remain always, a true 
patriot. He will endure in our hearts and prayers.

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