[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 193 (Thursday, December 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2282-E2283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES AND INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 15, 2011

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to 
the United States Armed Forces and Intelligence Services on the 
occasion of the successful completion of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Nine years ago our country embarked on a military campaign to end the 
tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein, bring the Iraqi people freedom and 
make the world a safer place. The road has not been an easy one to 
travel but through it all our U.S. service members have persevered. 
From the insurgency in the al Anbar Province to the violence in 
Baghdad, to the ultimate success of the surge, our troops did not lose 
sight of the goal. As the enemy

[[Page E2283]]

changed their tactics, our military, with the help of our intelligence 
community, adapted and overcame. While there have been many that have 
questioned America's ability to commit to a long war, a decade later 
proves our determination as well as assures our Iraqi friends that they 
have a lasting ally in the United States.
  While we commemorate the successful completion of Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, the challenges remain for Iraq just as it would for any 
nascent democracy. Today, let us recommit ourselves diplomatically to 
Iraq and ensure that as the country experiences the growing pains of a 
new democratic state, they can turn to the U.S. for guidance and help.
  Today also serves as the successful completion of Operation Iraqi 
Freedom which will be remembered in history, along with the almost 
4,500 service members that were killed in action in Iraq. Today we also 
reaffirm a solemn promise that we will always remember their sacrifice 
and that they gave up the most precious of all things--life. We 
acknowledge that the death and eternal absence of a soldier, sailor, 
airman, Coast Guardsman or Marine does not exist in a vacuum--it is a 
wound that will never truly heal in the hearts of all those who loved 
them. We honor them as individuals--they are people who cannot be 
replaced but whose memory lives on whenever their story is told. So as 
we close this chapter, let us promise to honor our war dead every day, 
tell their stories and remember their sacrifice. In honor of all those 
who died in service to our country in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I would 
like to read the names of those killed from my congressional district.
  Gunnery Sgt Jeffrey Bohr, United States Marine Corps
  First Lieutenant Todd Bryant, United States Army
  Sergeant Ryan Young, United States Army
  Private First Class Brian Cutter, United States Marine Corps
  Sergeant Eliu Miersandoval, United States Army
  Lance Corporal Rafael Suarez, United States Marine Corps
  Corporal Billy Gomez, United States Army
  Specialist Jonathan Castro, United States Army
  Corporal Jason Morrow, United States Marine Corps
  Private First Class Jason Franco, United States Marine Corps
  Sergeant Rhys Klasno, California National Guard
  Sergeant Thomas McFall, United States Army
  Specialist Cameron Payne, United States Army
  Specialist Joshua Modgling, United States Army
  Specialist Eric Holke, California National Guard
  Staff Sergeant Eric Cottrell, United States Army
  Staff Sergeant Alejandro Ayala, United States Air Force
  Specialist Armando A. De La Paz, United States Army
  Private Grant Cotting, United States Army
  Lance Corporal David James Hogan, United States Marine Corps
  Staff Sergeant Michael Cardenaz, United States Army
  Senior Airman Michael Hinkle, United States Air Force
  Sergeant Aaron Blasjo, United States Army
  Sergeant Andrew Tobin, United States Army
  God Bless our Troops and God Bless America.

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