[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12428-S12429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    Second Class Charles Luke Milam

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I wish to reflect on the life and service 
of Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Charles Luke Milam. Luke was 
killed last Wednesday in a rocket attack near the town of Musa Qula, 
Afghanistan. He was 26 years old.
  Luke Milam was a giant of his generation, a man who served his 
country and those around him with dignity, courage, and honor. I cannot 
begin to paint the picture of someone so deeply respected by those with 
whom he served, so committed to helping others.
  Luke Milam grew up in Littleton, CO, the youngest of four siblings. 
He was smart, friendly, and athletic. He loved the mountains of 
Colorado and spent his time biking, backpacking, hiking, and canoeing.

[[Page S12429]]

  I do not know what inspired Luke's strong sense of virtue or what led 
him to join the military. Perhaps it was the service of his grandfather 
Charles or his brother Keith that moved him to enlist after graduating 
from high school.
  I imagine, though, that Luke's own experiences as a witness to one of 
the worst tragedies of our time, the shootings at Columbine High 
School, strengthened his resolve to bring healing, peace, and good to 
areas torn by violence. Luke Milam was a senior at Columbine when, on 
April 20, 1999, 2 shooters killed 12 people and wounded 24 others 
before turning their guns on themselves.
  I was Colorado's attorney general when the shootings occurred. The 
time I spent with the Littleton community in the aftermath--sorting 
through the events, finding out what went wrong and then helping to 
rebuild--affirmed my unmatched admiration for the young people who 
endured one of the darkest moments of American history. So many of 
Columbine's survivors have gone on to do extraordinary things--it is as 
though they have committed themselves to overcoming the evil they 
witnessed by planting hope, decency, and goodness wherever they can. 
Luke Milam was among them.
  Serving as a Navy corpsman with a unit of marines--a special 
operations unit no less--requires great skill and courage. The corpsman 
is tasked with providing medical care for marines on the field of 
battle. It is an incredibly dangerous job that entails carrying a 
loaded weapon along with the tools of your trade. Some of America's 
most renowned heroes on the battlefield were hospital corpsmen: people 
such as Wayne Caron, David R. Ray, and Francis Hammond--Medal of Honor 
recipients who gave their lives in combat to save others.
  Hospital Corpsman Milam served in this tradition. He was highly 
decorated for his service, earning a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, two 
Combat Action ribbons, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, 
two Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global 
War on Terrorism Medal, and two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. More 
importantly for the corpsman, though, Luke Milam earned the deepest 
respect and admiration of the marines with whom he served.
  Luke was on his fourth tour, having served three tours in Iraq. He 
``felt it was his calling to help the guys around him,'' his brother 
Keith said. ``If there were guys in harm's way, he needed to be there 
to take care of them.''
  Almost a century ago, Teddy Roosevelt told a Paris crowd that the 
model citizen is the man who is willing to take action in pursuit of 
that which he thinks is right. His speech draws on the same words that 
family and friends use to describe Luke Milam's virtues.
  When evaluating mankind's progress, said Roosevelt, ``it is not the 
critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man 
stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The 
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is 
marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, 
who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without 
error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; 
who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in 
a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high 
achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while 
daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and 
timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.''
  Hospital Corpsman Luke Milam sacrificed his life for this Nation as a 
man who knew that his country needed him to be ``in the arena,'' 
helping others. He accepted the risks of his job with extraordinary 
professionalism and served with honor in the best tradition of the 
corpsman. We cannot repay our debt nor replace his loss.
  To Luke's parents, Rita and Michael, to his sister, Jaeme, and to his 
brothers, Keith and Andrew, I know that no words can describe or 
assuage the pain you feel. I pray that you can find comfort in the 
knowledge that Luke was doing something which he truly loved, that he 
was doing it well, and that he will never be forgotten. His country is 
eternally grateful. He will endure in our hearts and prayers.

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