[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 13 (Friday, January 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E81]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING ANDREW WILSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 27, 2012

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, we owe much of our freedom to those who 
offer their life's work in service to the tenets of this mighty 
country. With unequalled resolve, the men and women of the United 
States Armed Forces protect freedom at home while bringing the light of 
freedom into the world's darkest places.
  On October 19, 2011, one of our brave defenders of the contract of 
democracy was injured when an Improvised Explosive Device exploded 
while he was on patrol in Afghanistan. He celebrated his 24th birthday 
at Walter Reed Medical Center awaiting his second prosthetic leg. After 
11 surgeries, Wilson remains determined as his toil is for a higher 
purpose. He will stand and greet his fellow heroes as they return from 
the Global War on Terror in April.
  With boldness, the brave men and women serving in our Armed Forces 
respond to recognizable evil with the might of America's military, and 
today freedom continues to march onward. There is a debt of gratitude 
to Specialist Wilson that no words can repay. I ask my colleagues to 
join with me in honoring Specialist Andrew Wilson as he refuses to 
accept defeat and lives brightly the Warrior Ethos. I rise to honor his 
sacrifice and join him in prayer for those in battle who have not yet 
made it home.

                          ____________________