[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 168 (Tuesday, November 10, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S11310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING ARMY SPECIALIST FREDERICK GREENE

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Earlier today the assistant Democratic leader, who is 
now presiding, delivered some eloquent remarks about the murders at 
Fort Hood. I believe there were two soldiers from Illinois who were 
there. One was from Tennessee, from Mountain City, TN, which is a 
beautiful little part of our State, way up in the northeastern corner 
near Virginia. Some people have said it looks like Switzerland and that 
the people there talk in Elizabethan phrases and tones.
  SPC Frederick Greene, according to an article in the Washington Post:

       . . . was a Tennessee native so quiet and laid back that he 
     earned the nickname ``Silent Soldier'' while stationed at 
     Fort Hood preparing to go overseas.
       He hoped to spend the months before his deployment to 
     Afghanistan with his wife of less than 2 years. She had made 
     arrangements to leave their home in Mountain City, TN, next 
     week and move to Fort Hood until January, when Greene was to 
     ship out.
       Instead, [they] are planning his burial in the northeast 
     corner of the state where he grew up.

  This is what Specialist Greene's family had to say about him, and I 
think it speaks as eloquently about his life and service to our country 
as anything could. In their words:

       Fred was a loved and loving son, husband and father, and 
     often acted as the protector of his family.
       Even before joining the Army, he exemplified the Army 
     values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, 
     integrity and personal courage. Many of his fellow soldiers 
     told us he was the quiet professional of the unit, never 
     complaining about a job, and often volunteering when needed. 
     Our family is grateful for the thoughts and prayers from 
     people around the country. We would like to ask for privacy 
     during this emotional time because Fred, too, was a very 
     private person.

  We will honor the request for privacy of the family, but we will also 
honor Fred Greene for his service to our country.
  Speaking just for myself, but I am sure most Tennesseans, most 
Americans, feel the same way--for 8 years now, tens of thousands of men 
and women from Tennessee have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep 
terrorism from spreading here.
  It is tragic enough when any one of them is wounded or killed in that 
fight; it is beyond belief when one of them is wounded or killed at 
home in a terrorist act at Fort Hood. That is hard for us to accept. 
But in accepting it and asking questions that we inevitably must ask 
about how this could have happened, we certainly can honor each of 
those who were killed, each of those who were wounded.
  We can respect their service, and I especially want to show my 
respect for the family of SPC Frederick Greene and for his service.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed following the remarks I just 
made a brief article from the Washington Post and an article from the 
Johnson City, TN, Press of Tuesday, November 10.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the Washington Post, Nov. 8, 2009]

                       Spec. Frederick Greene, 29

       Spec. Frederick Greene was a Tennessee native so quiet and 
     laid-back that he earned the nickname ``Silent Soldier'' 
     while stationed at Fort Hood preparing to go overseas.
       He hoped to spend the months before his deployment to 
     Afghanistan with his wife of less than two years. She had 
     made arrangements to leave their home in Mountain City, 
     Tenn., next week and move to Fort Hood until January, when 
     Greene was to ship out.
       Instead, Greene's wife and family are planning his burial 
     in the northeast corner of the state where he grew up.
       The 29-year-old enlisted in the Army six months after 
     getting married because the military seemed like the best way 
     forward, said Howard Nourse of Kentwood, Mich., who said he 
     considered Greene a grandson. Rural Mountain City offered 
     relatively few opportunities to advance, and he wanted to 
     build a career, perhaps in engineering.
       Greene's mother died when he was a boy, and he was raised 
     by her twin sister Karen Nourse, and Karen's husband, Rob 
     Nourse. Family members are leaning on their Christian faith 
     as they grieve, said Howard Nourse, Rob's father. ``God is 
     still in control,'' he said. ``Even though we don't 
     understand why something happens, He's still in control.''
                                  ____


           [From the Johnson City (TN) Press, Nov. 10, 2009]

                 Local Soldier Remembered by Community

                           (By Brian Bishop)

       One of the 13 killed during Thursday's Fort Hood attack was 
     a local man--29-year-old Army Specialist Frederick Greene.
       ``Fred was a loved and loving son, husband and father and 
     often acted as the protector of this family,'' Army Public 
     Affairs Cathy Gramling said in a prepared family statement 
     Sunday outside the Johnson City home of Greene's parents, 
     Karen and Rob Nourse.
       ``Even before joining the Army, he exemplified the Army 
     values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, 
     integrity and personal courage. Many of his fellow soldiers 
     told us he was the quiet professional of the unit, never 
     complaining about a job given, and often volunteering when 
     needed. Our family is grateful for the thoughts and prayers 
     from people around the country. We would like to ask for 
     privacy during this emotional time as Fred, too, was a very 
     private person.''
       Greene's family did not participate in the news conference, 
     opting to let the military spokeswoman read the prepared 
     statement.
       ``I don't have any information about what happened during 
     the shooting,'' Gramling said. ``The Army and other 
     investigators are going through that now. I will say this, 
     regardless of Fred's actions during the shooting, he signed 
     up to serve our country. In my mind, and I believe in the 
     minds of the family, he's already a hero, regardless of what 
     happened that day.''
       Fred's parents attend River of Life Church just down the 
     road from their home and pastor Donnie Humphrey is making 
     sure the family gets the full support of the church during 
     this emotional time while ministering to the church as well.
       ``We're doing as much or as little as they want,'' Humphrey 
     said. ``In this situation, what we've got to be really 
     careful about is smothering somebody. We want to be there for 
     them if they need us but not be in the way. In the grieving 
     process, there's anger, hurt and confusion. That's kind of 
     where our congregation is too, in shock this morning because 
     we kept this quiet. They were shocked, hurt, confused and I'm 
     sure some folks are angry as well.''
       Church members and others in the community speak well of 
     Greene, who joined the military in May 2008, and say it is a 
     loss that will be felt for a long time to come. Those that 
     have known Greene all his life say he was a smart man on his 
     way up in the world.
       ``I've known Fred and his family his whole life and he was 
     a very fine boy, one of the finest you ever met,'' family 
     friend Glen Arney said.
       ``I worked with him at the A.C. Lumber and Truss Company 
     where he worked for a number of years. He went from building 
     trusses to being offered the job of designer, but he turned 
     it down. He was one of those who was smarter and more well-
     read than he let on. Everybody who met him, loved Fred 
     Greene.''
       Exact details about the shooting rampage are not known as 
     investigators from multiple agencies are working out what 
     transpired when officials say suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan 
     opened fire.

                          ____________________