[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 114 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STAFF SERGEANT TONY WINTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 30, 2010

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride and a heavy 
heart that I honor a fallen Son of Texas today. Staff Sergeant Leston 
Michael Winters--known to his friends and family as Tony--gave his life 
in Afghanistan in defense of freedom.
  Tony was killed July 15th when an IED exploded near his dismounted 
patrol. Tony was in the Zhari District of the Kandahar Province. The 
IED is the weapon of cowards who hide in the shadows. These cowards are 
too afraid to stand and fight.
  Staff Sergeant Tony Winters was all American. He graduated from 
Hardin-Jefferson High School in 1998. He joined the Army and served as 
a combat medic.
  Medic! Medic! Those are the words that ring out when warriors are 
injured in battle. And it is the rare breed of medical man who runs to 
their aid in the heat of the battle. Through the dust and sand and heat 
of the desert sun, the medic in Afghanistan saves lives.
  A combat medic is the bravest kind of warrior--running into the 
battle to aid the fallen soldier.
  Tony was safe and snug serving at a stateside hospital in Fort 
Leonard Wood, Missouri. But last Christmas he decided to transfer to a 
base that would go into combat.
  He wanted to serve on the front lines.
  Tony knew full well what that decision meant. You see, he had already 
served three tours overseas, one in Kosovo and two in Iraq.
  Tony knew where his skills would be best used fighting the terrorists 
who attacked America on September 11th. Tony knew the importance of his 
job to the war effort. He was a saver of lives in the combat arena. An 
Army combat medic.
  General Douglas MacArthur was speaking of real men like Tony when he 
spoke those immortal words: Duty, honor, country. Those three hallowed 
words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what 
you will be.
  Tony understood duty and personal sacrifice. He went to Afghanistan 
to save help save the lives of his warrior brothers and sisters.
  Tony is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, sons, Remington and 
Jonathon, daughter Emma, his parents Kenneth and Cheryl Spivey of Sour 
Lake, Texas, his sister Alisha Martin of Port Arthur, and brother Cory 
Hunt also of Sour Lake.
  Staff Sergeant Tony Winters will be laid to rest in Arlington 
National Cemetery in August.
  As the early American poet Joseph Drake said, ``And they who for 
their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the 
soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.''
  It is my honor to offer a grateful nation's thanks and prayers. We 
are grateful that a man like Staff Sergeant Tony Winters lived and 
loved America.
  It was once said that what we do for ourselves dies with us--but what 
we do for the others and the world remains and is immortal. Tony's life 
was dedicated to saving the lives of others.
  All give some in Afghanistan, but Staff Sergeant Tony Winters gave 
all. He is an American hero.
  I offer my heartfelt condolences to Tony's wife and children and to 
his friends and family.
  Today we honor this great American warrior's life and are humbled by 
his greatest of sacrifices.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________