[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S2289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                   Staff Sergeant Michael D. Elledge

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of SSG 
Michael Elledge of Fort Carson, CO. On March 17, a bomb exploded near 
the humvee Sergeant Elledge was driving, killing him and SPC 
Christopher C. Simpson, of Hampton, VA. Sergeant Elledge was assigned 
to C Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 4th Infantry 
Division, out of Fort Carson, CO. He was 41 years old.
  Those who knew Mike Elledge describe him as a man committed to his 
family, faith, and duty to his country. He first donned a uniform after 
graduating from high school in Michigan in 1985. He served 4 years with 
the Marines. After discharging, he became a licensed aircraft mechanic 
and moved to Indiana, where he took a job with United Airlines. For 14 
years he worked for United, lived in Brownsburg, and raised three 
children--Christopher, Caleb, and Cassidy--with his wife Carleen.
  But Mike's life changed after the attacks of September 11, 2001. We 
cannot forget that the tragedies of that day were not confined to New 
York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. The ripples quickly spread to all 
corners of the country as people learned of friends and family members 
who were hurt or killed and as the economic impacts hit home with job 
losses and dislocations.
  Mike was among the tens of thousands of Americans who lost their job 
in the wake of the September 11 attacks. United Airlines, struggling to 
recover after the disaster, closed the doors on its Brownsburg 
facility, leaving Mike without a job.
  We each have our own way of confronting adversity in our lives. For 
Michael Elledge, the terror and tragedy of September 11 was a call to 
service--a call to reenlist. So, at age 38, Sergeant Elledge joined the 
Army. In 2005, he deployed to Iraq for a 1-year rotation. Last 
December, he and the Third Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Carson 
deployed again, this time for a projected 15-month tour.
  Sergeant Elledge carried his deeply rooted faith into battle with 
him. His friends say he was passionately committed to helping Iraqis 
build a country where they could enjoy freedom and security. For this, 
Sergeant Elledge embodied the best of a soldier--he was devoted to his 
duty with the knowledge that his service could make others' lives 
better.
  This is the type of citizen that Americans have celebrated for 
generations. President Theodore Roosevelt, in a speech at the Sorbonne 
in Paris in 1910, praised the values that Sergeant Elledge embodied and 
claimed that it is the ``man in the arena'' who makes history.
  ``It is not the critic who counts,'' said President Roosevelt, ``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.''
  Mr. President, Sergeant Elledge knew what a difference he could make 
and was not afraid to make it. He was the ``man in the arena'' for whom 
President Roosevelt had such high praise.
  No words or ceremony, of course, can properly honor the life and loss 
of a soldier like Sergeant Elledge, but we wish to console his friends 
and family and remember his contributions. That is why scores of 
firefighters lined the overpasses of Sacramento, CA, to honor his 
return; that is why flags are flying in his hometown of Placerville, 
MI; and that is why the bugles will sound at Fort Carson in Colorado 
Springs.
  To Sergeant Elledge's wife, Carleen, his sons, Christopher and Caleb, 
his daughter, Cassidy, his parents, Marion and Christopher, and to all 
his friends and family, our thoughts and prayers are with you. No words 
can lessen the pain and grief that you feel, but I hope that in time 
your sorrow will be salved by the knowledge that Mike served his 
country with honor and that we are all grateful for his courage, his 
sacrifice, and his heroism. He will never be forgotten.


                     Staff Sergeant David D. Julian

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to express our Nation's 
deepest thanks and gratitude to a special young man and his family. I 
was saddened to receive word that on March 10, 2008, SSG David Julian 
of Evanston, WY, was killed in the line of duty while serving our 
country in the war on terrorism. Along with four of his fellow 
soldiers, Staff Sergeant Julian died from injuries he sustained in a 
suicide bomber attack in Baghdad, Iraq.
  Staff Sergeant Julian was assigned to D Company, 1st Battalion, 64th 
Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA. He joined the 
Army right after his graduation from Evanston High School in 1994. He 
loved the Army and his country and was serving his fourth tour of duty 
in Iraq. Following his first tour, he laid the wreath for the 
dedication of the Fallen Comrade Memorial in downtown Evanston. He was 
laid to rest in his hometown, where he was remembered by family and 
friends as a determined and courageous warrior, an honorable soldier, 
and a loving husband and father.
  It is because of David Julian that we continue to live safe and free. 
America's men and women who answer the call to service and wear our 
Nation's uniform deserve respect and recognition for the enormous 
burden that they willingly bear. They put everything on the line every 
day, and because of them and their families, our Nation remains free 
and strong in the face of danger.
  In the Book of John, Jesus said that, ``Greater love has no man than 
this, that he lay his life down for his friend.'' SSG David Julian gave 
his life, that last full measure of devotion, for you, me, and every 
single American. He gave his life defending his country and its people, 
and we honor him for this selfless sacrifice.
  Staff Sergeant Julian is survived by his wife Erin and baby daughter 
Elizabeth, his mother Bonnie and father Wally, brothers Eric, Chris, 
and Mark, and sisters Misty, Becky, and Kellee. He is also survived by 
his brothers and sisters in arms of the U.S. Army. We say goodbye to a 
husband, a father, a son, a brother, and an American soldier. Our 
Nation pays its deepest respect to SSG David D. Julian for his courage, 
his love of country, and his sacrifice, so that we may remain free. He 
was a hero in life and he remains a hero in death. All of Wyoming, and 
indeed the entire Nation, is proud of him. May God bless him and his 
family and welcome him with open arms.

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