[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 61 (Friday, May 3, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E586-E587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO TY WOODS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH J. HECK

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 3, 2013

  Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to pay my 
most solemn respects to and commemorate the life of Ty Woods, a former 
Navy SEAL and my constituent who was killed in the attack on the 
American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on the occasion of his 
name being enshrined on the American Foreign Service Association 
memorial plaque.
  The memorial honors ``diplomatic and consular officers of the United 
States who while on active duty lost their lives under heroic or tragic 
circumstances.'' The events that surrounded the untimely loss of Ty 
Woods were at once tragic and heroic and it is fitting that his name be 
added to the memorial. He lived a life of service to his country and in 
the end made the ultimate sacrifice in its defense.
  After twenty years of honorable service in the Navy, Ty, who led 
raids and reconnaissance missions in the most volatile parts of the 
Middle East, could have chose a life of relative ease as a decorated 
war hero. Instead, the man who Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 
memorialized as having ``the hands of a healer as well as the arm of a 
warrior,'' again answered the call to serve and joined the State 
Department Diplomatic Security team.
  Since 2010, Ty protected American diplomatic personnel in dangerous 
posts from Central America to the Middle East but it was at Benghazi 
where he demonstrated exemplary courage under fire. In Benghazi, while 
defending an under-secured, besieged diplomatic mission, Ty Woods gave 
his life so that other Americans could escape to safety. According to 
reports, Ty saved the lives of thirty staff members by heroically 
engaging the insurgents even after sustaining mortal wounds. For his 
heroism in the face of grave danger, Ty has earned his place on the 
memorial that hangs at the State Department. His name joins dozens of 
others who have given their lives in the service of the country they 
loved.
  Ty Woods was a loving son, husband, and father who lived up to the 
highest ideals of the United States Navy and the State Department. I 
thank him for his service and his selfless sacrifice and commend to his 
memory yet another honor so well deserved.

[[Page E587]]



                          ____________________