[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2219-S2220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                        Sergeant Dennis Weichel

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my colleague from 
Rhode Island, to pay tribute to SGT Dennis Weichel, a Rhode Islander 
who served in the Rhode Island National Guard.
  On March 22, Sergeant Weichel was in a convoy with his unit in 
Laghman Province, Afghanistan. Some children were in the road and 
Sergeant Weichel and other troops got out to move the children to 
safety. Most of the children moved out of the way, but one little girl 
went back to the road. As an MRAP approached, Sergeant Weichel pulled 
her out of the vehicle's path, but in doing so he was hit by the 
vehicle. He was medically evacuated to Jalalabad Medical Treatment 
Facility, where a surgical team worked to stabilize him. But, 
tragically, he died from his injuries. Because of his heroic actions, 
the little girl he saved was unharmed in the accident. He will be laid 
to rest this Monday in Rhode Island, a hero--someone who exemplifies 
the qualities of the American soldier: selfless sacrifice for others.
  Sergeant Weichel joined the National Guard in 2001. He was 
posthumously promoted to sergeant. He previously deployed to Iraq as a 
member of Detachment 2, Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 3rd 
Battalion, of the 172nd Infantry, Mountain. In November 2011, he 
mobilized for deployment to Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 143rd 
Infantry Regiment.
  Each generation of Americans is called upon to protect and sustain 
our democracy, and there are no greater heroes than the men and women 
who have worn the uniform of our Nation and who have sacrificed for our 
country to keep it safe and to keep it free.
  It is our duty to protect the freedom they sacrificed their lives for 
through our service, our citizenship. We must continue to keep their 
memories alive and honor their heroism, not simply by words but by our 
deeds as citizens of this country.
  Today our thoughts are with Sergeant Weichel's mother Linda, his 
father Dennis, brother Craig, his sisters Christine and Charlene, his 
children Nicholas and Hope and their mother Amanda, and his fiancee 
Ashley and their daughter Madison, and all his family and friends and 
his comrades-in-arms. We join them in commemorating his sacrifice and 
honoring his example of selfless service, of love, of courage, and of 
devotion to the soldiers with whom he served and the people of 
Afghanistan he was trying to help.
  Sergeant Weichel is one among many Rhode Islanders who have proven 
their loyalty, their integrity, and their personal courage by giving 
the last full measure of their lives in service to our country in 
Afghanistan, in Iraq, and elsewhere around the globe and throughout the 
years. Today we honor his memory and all those who have served and 
sacrificed as he did.
  Sergeant Weichel joins a roll of honor that includes the following 
Rhode Islanders killed since September 11, 2001:
  SPC Dennis Poulin, Army National Guard; SGT Michael Paranzino, Army; 
PFC Kyle Coutu, Marine Corps; LTJG Francis L. Toner, IV, Navy; PO3 
Ronald A. Gill, Jr., Coast Guard; SGT Michael R. Weidemann, Army; SGT 
Moises Jazmin, Army; SSG Dale James Kelly, Jr., Army National Guard; 
SGT Brian R. St. Germain, Marine Corps; SGT Dennis J. Flanagan, Army; 
2LT Matthew S. Coutu, Army; LCPL Holly A. Charette, Marine Corps; SSG 
Christopher S. Potts, Army National Guard; LCPL John J. Van Gyzen, IV, 
Marine

[[Page S2220]]

Corps; CPT Christopher S. Cash, Army; LCPL Matthew K. Serio, Marine 
Corps; MSG Richard L. Ferguson, Army; SFC Curtis Mancini, Army Reserve; 
CPT Matthew J. August, Army; CW5 Sharon T. Swartworth, Army; SPC 
Michael Andrade, Army National Guard; SGT Charles T. Caldwell, Army 
National Guard; SSG Joseph Camara, Army National Guard; and SGT Gregory 
A. Belanger, Army Reserve.
  All of these men and women have given their lives in the last decade 
in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is a roll of honor. It is a roll that 
Sergeant Weichel joins. It should be, for us, a roll not just to 
recognize and remember but to recommit to trying in some small way to 
match their great sacrifice for this great Nation.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, it is with great sadness but also 
considerable pride that I join Senator Reed today to honor the service 
of SGT Dennis P. Weichel, Jr., of the Rhode Island National Guard, who 
died 1 week ago today while serving our country in Afghanistan.
  Dennis' actions in defense of the lives of vulnerable civilians 
embody the most noble spirit of service, sacrifice, and loyalty found 
in the hearts of the men and women serving our Nation in uniform in the 
most dangerous corners of the globe. In particular, they reflect the 
spirit of service of the Rhode Island National Guard, which is the 
second most heavily deployed State guard in the country.
  Dennis, who was 29 years old, lived in Providence. He had joined the 
Rhode Island National Guard in 2001, and he deployed to Iraq in 2005 in 
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a member of Company D, 3rd 
Battalion, 172nd Infantry, Mountain, Regiment. In November 2011, Dennis 
mobilized with Company C, 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 56th 
Troop Command, to Camp Atterbury, IN. His unit deployed forward to 
Afghanistan just this month.
  He had only been in Afghanistan a few weeks when his unit encountered 
a group of children on its way out of the Black Hills Firing Range in 
Laghman Province. The children were scavenging in the road for brass 
shell casings, which are recyclable for money in Afghanistan.
  Dennis, a father of three, hopped down from his vehicle to help move 
the children safely out of the path of the convoy of trucks and armored 
vehicles. As the heavy trucks rumbled past, it appears a young Afghan 
girl darted back into the road to grab one last brass shell casing. 
Seeing one of his unit's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles 
bearing down on the girl, Dennis reacted swiftly and selflessly, 
lifting the girl to safety and placing himself in the path of the 16-
ton MRAP.
  I am sure this was a parent's instinct and that Dennis had in mind 
his own children: Nicholas, age 8; Hope, age 6; and baby Madison. 
Dennis was evacuated to the Jalalabad Medical Treatment Facility, and 
there he succumbed to his injuries.
  Dennis leaves behind his fiancee Ashley, the mother of their 8-month-
old baby girl Madison. He leaves behind his former wife Amanda, who is 
mother to his son Nicholas and his daughter Hope. He leaves behind his 
mother and father Linda Reynolds and Dennis Weichel, Sr.
  My deepest and heartfelt sorrows and prayers go out to all of 
Dennis's family and to his friends. Senator Reed and I will join them 
this weekend to pay our respects when Dennis comes home for the last 
time to Rhode Island.
  Dennis acted with instinctive bravery on that road in Laghman 
Province. His action reflected the selfless dedication of an American 
soldier and the heart of a father toward a child. Dennis has been 
posthumously promoted from the rank of specialist to sergeant, and his 
family will receive the Bronze Star he has been awarded for heroism.
  The writer Joseph Campbell once described a hero as someone who has 
given his or her life to something bigger than one's self. In giving 
his life to save one small child, SGT Dennis Weichel has reflected 
great honor upon our military and its best traditions and this great 
Nation and the values for which it stands. He will justly be remembered 
a hero.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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