[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 102 (Thursday, June 19, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN MEMORY OF LANCE CORPORAL LAYTON BRADLY CRASS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE PENCE

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2008

  Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of a brave 
young Hoosier who served his country honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
I was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Lance Corporal Layton 
Bradly Crass of Richmond, Indiana, one of four Marines who perished in 
the wake of a roadside bombing in southwestern Afghanistan's Farah 
Province on Saturday, June 14, 2008.
  Lance Cpl. Crass served in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st 
Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Twentynine 
Palms, California. He was serving in support of Operation Enduring 
Freedom in Afghanistan, where his unit was helping to train and mentor 
the Afghan national police.
  The three Marine Corps values are honor, courage and commitment. They 
make up the bedrock of the character of each individual Marine. These 
values, handed down from generation to generation, have made the U.S. 
Marine Corps the most respected and revered fighting force on Earth. 
Lance Cpl. Crass personified these values and continued that proud 
tradition as a Rifleman who served his country bravely in combat.
  In addition to the posthumous awards that he will receive because he 
died in the line of duty, Lance Cpl. Crass was the recipient of seven 
awards since he enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 2005. He earned 
ribbons for combat action and two sea service deployments, as well as 
campaign medals for Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Madam Speaker, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and 
friends of Lance Cpl. Crass, and I wish to express my profound sadness 
to the community of Richmond, which is struggling to cope with the loss 
of a second young man in only a few short months. Just as Lance Cpl. 
Crass embodied the Marine motto--Semper Fidelis, ``Always Faithful''--
let us also be faithful to extend a helping hand to his family, friends 
and community, and remember them in our thoughts and prayers.

                          ____________________