[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 80 (Monday, June 6, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    Staff Sergeant Joseph J. Hamski

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, with sadness, I rise to pay tribute to 
the life of Air Force SSG Joseph J. Hamski who died in the Shorabak 
district of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on May 26, 2011, of wounds 
suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit. My thoughts and prayers 
go out to his wife, SSG Maria Christina Hamski, his mother Mary Ellen, 
and all his other family and friends who are grieving his loss.
  Staff Sergeant Hamski had served two tours in Iraq and was serving 
his second tour in Afghanistan. He was an explosives disposal 
specialist and was reportedly very good at his job. According to his 
mother, ``He loved life, but when he was working, he was intense.'' She 
also observed that, ``He was modest: He'd say, `I just do my job so 
everyone can do their job.' '' He also told a friend that if he didn't 
come back, he didn't want people to make it a big deal.
  While I don't mean to go contrary to his wishes, I cannot fail to pay 
tribute to his selfless service and tremendous sacrifice. Where would 
our country be without humble, hardworking, self-sacrificing patriots 
like Joseph Hamski? We owe him and his comrades in arms nothing short 
of our freedom and our way of life, a debt we can never repay but must 
never forget.

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