[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING STAFF SERGEANT BRYAN HOOVER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. KATHLEEN A. DAHLKEMPER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2010

  Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise 
today to honor the life of a fallen hero from Western Pennsylvania. 
Staff Sergeant Bryan Hoover of Lyndora, Pennsylvania was only 29 years 
old when he made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation in 
Afghanistan.
  On June 11th, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the 
Bullard Bazaar in Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan where Staff 
Sergeant Hoover and his fellow soldier, Sergeant First Class Robert 
Fike, also of Western Pennsylvania, were on foot patrol. Both these 
brave men were killed in the explosion. They were members of the 
Pennsylvania Army National Guard's Company C, 1st Battalion, 110th 
Infantry, based in Connellsville.
  Staff Sergeant Hoover was passionate about his service to his 
country, and dreamt of joining the military even as a child. He 
enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2005 and previously served in 
the Marines. Bryan served a total of four tours overseas, two in 
Afghanistan, one in Iraq and one in Kuwait. He truly lived to serve our 
nation.
  To his fellow soldiers, he was one of them, but to the students of 
Elizabeth Forward High School in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, he was known 
as Coach Hoover. Bryan was the assistant cross country and track coach 
at his alma mater, where he graduated in 2000. Bryan loved sports, and 
was a talented athlete himself who particularly enjoyed hockey. He 
earned a degree in sports management from California University of 
Pennsylvania.
  For his brave service and sacrifice, Staff Sergeant Bryan Hoover was 
awarded the Purple Heart.
  Bryan is survived by his father, Melvin Hoover; his brothers, Richard 
and Ben; his sister, Samantha; his grandfather, Ray Bradford; his 
stepmother, Elaina Evans, and his fiance, Ashley Tack. His mother, 
Debra Jean, preceded Bryan in death.
  It is my sad duty to enter the name of Staff Sergeant Bryan Hoover in 
the Record of the United States House of Representatives for service, 
sacrifice, commitment to his country and to our freedom.
  While we struggle to express our sorrow over this loss, we can take 
pride in the example Bryan set as a soldier. Today and always, he will 
be remembered by family and friends as a true American hero, and we 
cherish the legacy of his service and his life.
  As I search for words to do justice to this valiant fallen soldier, I 
recall President Abraham Lincoln's words as he addressed the families 
of soldiers who died at Gettysburg:
  We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have 
consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world 
will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never 
forget what they did here.
  May God grant strength and peace to those who mourn, and may God be 
with all of you, as I know He is with Bryan.

                          ____________________