[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 137 (Friday, September 25, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H9964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF SERGEANT FIRST CLASS SHAWN PATRICK 
                               McCLOSKEY

  (Mr. WESTMORELAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
fallen American patriot.
  Thousands of my constituents lined the streets of Peachtree City, 
Georgia, this week, waving American flags to honor the late Sergeant 
First Class Shawn Patrick McCloskey. The sergeant, returning home to 
his final resting place, died while serving in the U.S. Army in 
Afghanistan.
  Before joining the service, Sergeant McCloskey worked for a 
construction company in Fayette County. Like many of his fellow 
soldiers, he was a regular American, going to work every day and 
providing for his family, when he decided to join the military in 2002. 
At a great time of anguish for our Nation, he heard the call to duty 
and answered it.
  Sergeant McCloskey became a Green Beret in 2004, and his valor won 
him many medals and awards, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart 
and the National Defense Service Medal.
  Our Nation mourns the loss of each soldier sacrificed on the 
battlefield. Today, we remember and grieve this great American hero, 
Sergeant First Class Shawn McCloskey. He died so that we and his fellow 
Americans could continue to live in freedom.
  We thank the McCloskey family for their gift to us. May God bless 
them during this hour of grief.

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