[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 18 (Thursday, January 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S1056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO GARY L. LEMONDS

 Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, today I wish to honor in the 
Record of the Senate SSG Gary Lemonds, a lifelong citizen of Walton 
County, real estate broker, and decorated Vietnam veteran who passed 
away on January 8, 2009.
  Gary Lemonds served with Company F, 75th Ranger Regiment in Cu Chi, 
Vietnam, and was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame on August 25, 
1994, at a ceremony in Fort Benning, GA. His induction was based on his 
involvement in a conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic 
of Vietnam. Staff Sergeant Lemonds served as a team leader during an 
ambush patrol maneuver on April 9 and April 10, 1969. When an enemy 
force launched a massive attack, Sergeant Lemonds led his men in an 
assault on the enemy emplacements. He single-handedly charged a bunker 
and destroyed it with grenades, then, sighting another fortification, 
he crawled through fierce enemy fire and silenced it with his rifle. 
After eliminating the hostile entrenchment system, he continued his 
patrol mission. On April 10, 1969, his patrol was attacked a second 
time. From his patrol position in a bomb crater, he called in artillery 
and air support on the large enemy element. When withdrawing his troops 
to a nearby landing zone for evacuation, he came under sniper fire from 
two North Vietnamese soldiers, whom he quickly eliminated with a 
grenade. Intense enemy fire thwarted the extraction aircraft's first 
landing attempt, so he directed a gun ship on the enemy location and 
effected a successful extraction.
  His extraordinary heroism earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, 
a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts as well as 
numerous other awards and medals. He also continued to honor other 
service men and women well after his tour in Vietnam through his 
involvement with the Patriot Guard Riders.
  Gary is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, Kimberly Lemonds 
and Jennifer and Jason Needham; his mother Dorothy Lemonds; sister and 
brother-in-law Glenda and Tom Lewis; grandchildren Jessica Lemonds, 
John Cwiek, and Pressley Needham, and a niece and nephew. Along with 
Gary, I would like to recognize his family today and thank them for 
sharing their beloved family member with our proud Nation.

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