[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S395-S396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                      First Lieutenant Eric Yates

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I have the sad duty today to share with 
my colleagues the story of one brave

[[Page S396]]

Kentuckian who sacrificed his life for his country. First Lieutenant 
Eric Yates, of Rineyville, KY, was killed on September 18, 2010, in 
Kandahar province, Afghanistan, after insurgents attacked his patrol 
with an improvised explosive device. He was 26 years old.
  For his heroic service, Lieutenant Yates received several awards, 
medals, and decorations, including the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple 
Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign 
Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service 
Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO 
Medal, the Combat Action Badge, and the Overseas Service Bar.
  On Veterans Day last year, Lieutenant Yates's alma mater, Western 
Kentucky University, honored him by inducting him into its ROTC Hall of 
Fame. A likeness of Lieutenant Yates, etched in granite, was unveiled 
and placed on the university's landmark Guthrie Bell Tower.
  The history department at Western Kentucky University, working with 
the Yates family, also established the First Lieutenant Eric Yates 
Memorial Scholarship. ``We have made it our mission to make it a 
scholarship that will be here forever, to keep Eric alive in our 
hearts,'' says Kathy Yates, Eric's mother. Thanks to fund raisers and 
generous donations, that scholarship fund now has over $20,000 in it.
  Eric was born on July 1, 1984, to Kathy and David Yates, and grew up 
on a farm in Rineyville. A typical little kid, he liked to play with 
toy tractors and watch cartoons. Batman and Power Rangers were his 
favorites. ``He went through a phase where he wore a cape all the time 
so he would be ready for any impending danger,'' remembers Kathy. Eric 
attended Rineyville Elementary School, and played baseball.
  On the farm, the Yates family grew hay and tobacco, and there was 
work to be done clearing weeds, topping plants, cutting the tobacco, 
and stripping it in the barn to get it ready for market. ``I am so 
thankful for that time we spent together working and talking, as that's 
when you really get to know your children and the work ethic they 
develop,'' Kathy says.
  One spring when Eric was about 10 and his little brother Nathan was 
about 6, David told his two sons they could each pick a newborn calf 
after their hard work stripping tobacco all winter. Nathan picked out 
the biggest bull he could find. He could not understand why his big 
brother Eric chose a little heifer calf. ``I want the gift that's going 
to keep on giving,'' Eric said, and he went on to sell a calf from that 
cow every year for the next 13 years.
  In high school Eric got his first job for Butternut Bread, filling 
the shelves in Wal-Mart, and was elected as treasurer of his school's 
chapter of Future Farmers of America.
  During the summer of 2001, the Yates family took a vacation to our 
Nation's capital here in Washington, D.C. Eric was thrilled to visit 
the White House, the Smithsonian, Arlington Cemetery, the Korean 
Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, Robert E. Lee's house, and the Tomb of 
the Unknown Soldier.
  Kathy recalls how he practically taught the family a history lesson 
at every stop along the way. ``He was amazed by all of it,'' she says.
  Soon after that summer trip came the events of 9/11. A junior in high 
school, Eric read as much about the brutal terrorist attacks on this 
country as he could. ``I had not seen anything that grabbed his 
attention like that fateful day,'' Kathy remembers. It was then that 
Eric began to think about a career in the U.S. Army.
  After graduating from John Hardin High School in 2003, Eric started 
at Elizabethtown Community College. Then he transferred to Western 
Kentucky University and joined their ROTC program, with an eye toward a 
military career. He hoped to return to Hardin County one day after 
retiring from the Army, to teach and share his stories of military 
adventure.
  Eric graduated from WKU in 2008. ``We were so proud of him that 
weekend as David and I put on his gold bars at his commissioning 
ceremony,'' Kathy says. After graduation, he joined the 101st Airborne 
Division and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, a point of pride 
for Eric as that was the same division his grandfather, Herbert L. 
Crabb, had served in.
  In May of 2010, Eric was deployed to Afghanistan with B Company, 1st 
Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. It would 
be his first and only deployment.
  We are thinking of First Lieutenant Yates's loved ones today, Mr. 
President, as I recount his story for my colleagues in the Senate, 
including his parents, David and Kathy Yates; his brother, Nathan 
Yates; his grandfather, Herbert L. Crabb; and many other beloved family 
members and friends.
  Eric's family learned after his tragic death that he had left behind 
a letter he wanted read at his funeral. His parents have gracefully 
shared that letter with me, and I would like to read it for my 
colleagues now. Eric writes as follows:

       Hello to everyone in attendance,
       I'm sorry that you all had to gather here today for this 
     event--no, really I am. But since you are here I would like 
     to take the chance to say a few things, try to impart some of 
     my knowledge and wisdom that I have stored up over the past 
     26 years. I consider myself fairly cultured and worldly, so 
     please pay attention; I have the following advice.
       Number one, take a chance. Get out there and do something 
     you wouldn't normally do. You will see and do some really 
     cool stuff and meet some really fine and interesting people. 
     Once an Army buddy and myself ate breakfast with a homeless 
     man in Oklahoma City, and I must say he left an impression on 
     me.
       Number two, watch the original Star Wars trilogy. It's an 
     amazing story.
       Number three, no matter how old you are, get off the couch 
     and exercise. You will look and feel so much better, have 
     more energy and be happier.
       Number four, read a lot books, both fiction and non-
     fiction, newspapers, magazines, blogs, online stories, movie 
     reviews--all these things will help you understand the world 
     around you, your role in it, and why what happened to me 
     happened where and when it did.
       Number five, save your money. You don't own your things; 
     your things own you.
       Number six, liquor is better than beer.
       Number seven, don't reject new ideas immediately.
       That seems to be all that I wanted to say, so thank you for 
     coming. Please have a safe trip home and have a good life. 
     Love, Eric Yates.

  It is a great loss, Mr. President, that First Lieutenant Eric Yates 
will not have a long and happy life himself, with the opportunities to 
share those lessons--and many more--with the people that fill that 
life. But I am honored to be able to share them now with my colleagues 
in the United States Senate.
  And I am honored to stand here today and recognize Lieutenant Yates's 
heroic service, and the solemn sacrifice he has made on behalf of a 
loving family, a proud Commonwealth, and a grateful Nation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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