[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 25, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                BOY SCOUT TRAGEDY AT LITTLE SIOUX RANCH

  (Mr. FORTENBERRY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague 
Congressman Lee Terry for introducing the resolution expressing 
heartfelt sympathy for the victims and families following the tornado 
that hit Little Sioux, Iowa.
  On June 11, we were given a stark reminder of just how fragile life 
is. In 1 minute, the Boy Scouts at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch were 
attending a leadership camp, Boy Scouts undoubtedly filled with joy, 
laughter and achievement, all of those wonderful things that make 
scouting a core ideal of America. In the next minute, a tornado tore 
through the camp, taking the lives of 4 Boy Scouts and injuring 40 
others.
  The four scouts who lost their lives--Aaron Eilerts from West Point, 
Nebraska, and Josh Fennen, Sam Thomsen and Ben Petrzilka from Omaha--
were exemplary young men.
  After the tornado struck, many other young men applied first aid to 
the injured and worked to free those trapped in the rubble. Clearly, 
the scouts lived up to their motto, ``Be prepared.''
  Mr. Speaker, may God bring comfort to the families and friends of 
those who lost loved ones that day.

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