[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 18 (Thursday, January 30, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S610-S611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING STAFF SERGEANT RYAN D. AUSTIN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it is my sad duty to report to my 
colleagues on a young Kentuckian who has been lost while serving his 
country. SSgt Ryan D. Austin of the U.S. Air Force passed away on 
August 6, 2013, in Maidstone, in the United Kingdom. He had been 
stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and he was 25 years old.
  For his service in uniform, Staff Sergeant Austin received several 
medals,

[[Page S611]]

awards, and decorations, including the Air Force Achievement Medal, the 
Meritorious Unit Award, the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the National 
Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, 
the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Air Force Expeditionary 
Service Ribbon, the NCO Professional Military Education Graduate 
Ribbon, the Small Arms Expert Marksman Ribbon, the Air Force Training 
Ribbon, and the Cyberspace Support Badge.
  Ryan enlisted in the Air Force in January of 2010. He was deployed to 
Germany with the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, First Communications 
Maintenance Squadron.
  Ryan's brother Nathan said:

       Being with [the Air Force] was the best career move he ever 
     made. The Air Force gave him the chance to go overseas, learn 
     new cultures and serve his country just like our father did. 
     It made him feel he gave something back to his country, as 
     well as protect America.

  Ryan was raised in Laurel County, the son of Karen Long and Doug 
Austin, who also served in uniform. He graduated from South Laurel High 
School in 2006. Friends remember that he enjoyed golf, cooking, working 
for charities, and traveling.
  Nathan remembers:

       When Ryan was around, he was fun to be with. We included 
     each other in our hobbies like tennis, basketball and video 
     games. We had our friends and we always had great times . . . 
     it's really a heavy burden on my heart to know that I have 
     lost a brother.

  While in high school, Ryan worked as a teacher's aide for Joey 
Marcum, a science teacher. Joey remembers:

       Ryan was such an awesome young man. He was honest, 
     hardworking and dependable. You could depend on him for 
     literally anything. He was just a really good guy.

  Ryan leaves behind his wife Jessica. The two of them were married on 
December 6, 2009. At the time of Ryan's death, Jessica was pregnant 
with their first child. She had a boy, named Brayden Kaine Austin. Ryan 
``was really looking forward to being a father,'' his brother Nathan 
said.
  Christa Koeller is a friend of Ryan and Jessica's who lived across 
the street from them when Ryan and Christa's husband were both 
stationed at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha. She remembers the 
couple's joy at learning they would have a baby:

       When he found out and Jessica found out that they both 
     would be parents, they were so overjoyed to start that new 
     segment of their lives. Ryan was a family man, devoted to his 
     job, and he was very dedicated as an airman. . . . A baby son 
     lost his father, and will never know him.

  Ryan's funeral service in Corbin, KY, was officiated by Pastor Daniel 
Carmack of Hawk Creek Church. Firefighters, policemen, county health 
care workers, friends, family, and even those who did not know Ryan but 
wished to pay their respects literally lined the town streets as the 
funeral procession passed by. Ryan received full military honors from 
the Honor Guard of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
  Pastor Carmack said:

       Ryan Austin was not only a soldier, but a leader that has 
     left an indelible mark on this generation.

  The Pastor continued:

       Ryan will long be remembered as . . . a devoted husband, 
     loving son, leader to his generation, and always a friend. 
     Although he was only 25, he have proved the statement true 
     that ``life is not measured in quantity, but in quality,'' 
     and he lived his life to the full with integrity and honor.

  Pastor Carmack, who was Ryan's youth pastor and watched this young 
man grow up, remembers that ``Ryan was a kid that always served 
others.'' I think it is clear that as an adult, a husband, a father, 
and an airman, Ryan's commitment to serving others only grew stronger.
  We in the Senate are thinking today of Ryan Austin's loved ones, 
including his wife Jessica; his son Brayden; his father Doug; his 
brothers Nathan Austin and Dylon Wall; his sister Rachel Austin; and 
many other beloved family members and friends. Ryan was laid to rest 
next to his mother Karen Long.
  I would like Ryan's family to know that the Senate honors Sergeant 
Ryan D. Austin's life of service. We are saddened by this very tragic 
loss, and we are grateful for his supreme sacrifice, which reminds us 
all of the meaning of valor.

                          ____________________