[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 101 (Monday, July 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            AMERICAN HEROES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, July 9, 2012

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, as South Carolinians 
recognized our freedoms on the Fourth of July, we also express 
gratitude for fallen heroes who made our freedoms possible. A moving 
tribute was published on June 29th as an editorial in The Greenville 
News.

                  Fallen Soldiers, Families Are Heroes

       Three families in South Carolina--and the state as a 
     whole--were given a bitter reminder earlier this month that 
     men and women still put their lives at risk every day to 
     protect American ideals in faraway places. These men and 
     women are heroes, as are the families that wonder, every day, 
     if their son, daughter, spouse or child will return home.
       Three from South Carolina won't. The S.C., National Guard 
     troops were among 21 people killed in a suicide bomb attack 
     on June 20. These brave men soon will be laid to rest, but 
     their families will continue to grieve in ways that few of us 
     can even begin to comprehend. It's a heart-wrenching reminder 
     of the cost of war, and particularly of the cost of the 
     current war in Afghanistan and the one in Iraq. These two 
     conflicts have demanded a very heavy commitment from--and 
     thus taken a very heavy toll on--our National Guard and 
     Reserve troops.
       The three members of the 133rd Military Police Company who 
     were killed include Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brad Thomas, of 
     Easley; 1st Lt. Ryan Davis Rawl, of Lexington; and Spc. John 
     David Meador II, of Columbia. Five other members of the 
     company were wounded in the attack. Thomas' funeral is 
     planned for this weekend.
       The 133rd, nicknamed the Palmetto Regulators, is based in 
     Timmonsville. It was in Afghanistan to train the Afghan 
     national police force and was scheduled to return home in 
     August. The three deaths bring to 16 the total of South 
     Carolina National Guard troops who have been killed in 
     Afghanistan since 2003.
       These two wars have exacted a heavy toll on military 
     families across the country. Many of those deaths have been 
     among Guard and Reserve troops who traditionally have been 
     used in support roles, but have been called upon during these 
     wars to serve more and longer combat tours, a result of 
     leaner operations for a military force that is spread 
     increasingly thin.
       Thomas leaves behind a wife, Jana, and a 3-year-old son, 
     Kayden. The family, who grief cannot be assuaged by our 
     expressions of gratitude, nonetheless deserves our sincerest 
     thanks for Thomas' devotion to this country and its ideals. 
     The family members need our thoughts and prayers as they try 
     to wade through a grief that too many military families have 
     experienced in the past decade.
       There have been 6,440 military deaths in Iraq and 
     Afghanistan since the wars began. Of those, 1,022, or nearly 
     16 percent, have been National Guard or Reserve troops, 
     according to The Washington Post.
       Few of us reflect daily on the lives at risk every day in 
     Afghanistan. Despite the continuing draw-down of American 
     forces, it still is an exceedingly hostile place. And our 
     nation still is calling on its part-time warriors to complete 
     that mission.
       Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston Jr., South Carolina's 
     adjutant general, offered a poignant reminder to all of us 
     that these wars still go on and our brave men and women still 
     risk their lives.
       ``These men died serving their country and I want to 
     express my deepest sympathy and condolences to their 
     families, who are the unsung heroes of our war effort,'' 
     Livingston said, according to a recent report in The State.
       ``These deaths are grim reminders that our military, to 
     include the South Carolina National Guard, is still active in 
     combat defense of our country. We are privileged to have such 
     heroes in our midst.
       Privileged, indeed.
       As the nation pauses in coming week to celebrate its 
     founding and the establishment of liberties and ideals that 
     are desired by people around the globe; it would be worth 
     taking more than a moment to remember the heroes--both the 
     fallen and those whom they've left behind. These spouses and 
     children, and the service men and women they love, are above 
     the political rhetoric of which wars should be fought and 
     how.
       They simply serve. Their burdens are tangible reminders 
     that the struggle for freedom continues and that it has a 
     tremendous and painful cost. This is a cost these soldiers 
     knew they might have to pay when they stepped forward to 
     serve in an all-volunteer military during a time of war, but 
     one their families are left trying to comprehend.
       These men are mourned. They are praised. And they and their 
     families should be remembered by a state and a nation that 
     needs to be eternally grateful for their service and their 
     immense and incomprehensible sacrifice.
       Said Thomas' father, Charles, ``They're doing a very 
     important job. A lot of Americans don't understand that. But 
     they're doing a very important job.''
       Amen.

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