[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 72 (Thursday, May 13, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S3711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    Lance Corporal Richard R. Penny

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that today I honor 
LCpl. Richard R. Penny from Greenland, AR, and pay tribute to his life 
and service to our country.
  Lance Corporal Penny was a machine gunner assigned to the 1st 
Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine 
Expeditionary Force based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In March 
of this year, he was deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand Province, an 
opium-producing region at the epicenter of the war on terror. He served 
with valor and distinction, earning numerous awards, including the 
National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service 
Medal, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.
  Lance Corporal Penny was an ``all-American'' man, an all-conference 
defensive tackle for Greenland High School's football team, and voted 
``class favorite'' by his peers. He loved to hunt and fish and drive 
backroads in his four-wheel-drive pickup he called ``Skeeter.'' Those 
who knew him described him as ``tough as nails,'' and said the word 
``quit'' was not part of his vocabulary.
  Greenland police officer Michael Huber perhaps best described Lance 
Corporal Penny's life and the impact he had on others when he said to a 
local TV station: ``Here in our town, there are people we look up to. 
Richard Penny was one of those. He'll still be somebody we can look up 
to. Because he paid the ultimate sacrifice on the altar of freedom.''
  Today I join all Arkansans in lifting up Lance Corporal Penny's 
family, friends, and all those who loved him during these challenging 
times. We will never forget his courage, his honor, and the life he 
gave for our country.

                          ____________________