[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 58 (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S2614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    Staff Sergeant James A. Justice

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam Presdient, it is with a solemn heart that I must 
honor the life and service of a soldier from my home State today, SSG 
James A. Justice of Grimes, IA. He was killed by enemy small arms fire 
in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, at the age of 32. Staff Sergeant 
Justice died trying to rescue the crew of a downed helicopter that made 
a hard landing in Alah Say District, Kapisa Province, Afghanistan.
  Staff Sergeant Justice has served in the U.S. Armed Forces since 
September of 1998. He was assigned to Troop A, 1st Squadron, 113th 
Cavalry, Camp Dodge, Johnston, IA. He was deployed to Kuwait as part of 
Operation Desert Spring in 2001, the Multinational Force Observer 
peacekeeping mission in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt in 2003-2004, and 
Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005-2006. He volunteered to deploy to 
Afghanistan in November of 2010. In Afghanistan, he was one of 
approximately 2,800 members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th 
Infantry Division.
  Staff Sergeant Justice is survived by his wife Amanda Jo and daughter 
Caydence Lillian; his father and mother Larry and Lillian Justice; a 
brother and two sisters; as well as many other family and friends.
  Sergeant Justice's family remembers him as a caring individual who 
was proud of the work he was doing for his country. He wanted nothing 
more than to serve side by side with his brothers and sisters in arms. 
His fellow soldiers remember him as a charismatic, natural leader and 
an integral part of his unit's community. The loss of Sergeant Justice 
is one that will be felt not only by his family and loved ones but by 
the entire Iowa Army National Guard and all those that were privileged 
enough to have known him.
  My thoughts and prayers are with the Justice family in this 
incredibly trying time. While words cannot express the debt that we as 
a Nation owe to Sergeant Justice and his family, I would like to take 
this time to remember the sacrifice that he made so that we can enjoy 
the freedoms that this Nation provides.

                          ____________________