[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 38 (Thursday, March 6, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              WELCOME HOME STAFF SERGEANT NICHOLAS LAVERY

  (Mr. KENNEDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Staff Sergeant 
Nicholas Lavery from Medway, Massachusetts.
  Nick graduated from UMass with a degree in criminal justice and 
enrolled in the Special Forces in 2007. After graduating as a 
distinguished honor graduate from the Special Forces Qualification 
Course, he became a Green Beret.
  There is an excerpt from a letter that I wanted to share with you 
that Nick left his loved ones when he first deployed.

       If I should fall, do not let your heart fill with sadness. 
     Know that I passed doing what I love to do, what I believe 
     in, what brings me happiness, that is protecting those who 
     cannot fend for themselves, protecting the United States of 
     America, and all those who I love so dearly. Look back on me 
     with kindness and happiness, be happy knowing that I could 
     not have chosen a better way to go.
       With love filling my body for my friends and family, I 
     tried to always be there for you all. Whether the shirt off 
     my back or somebody's teeth, if you needed it, I would get it 
     for you. Happiness was brought to me through the eyes of my 
     loved ones. Seeing you all happy brought me such joy.
       I live for you. I never wanted money, accommodations, or 
     even any sort of recognition. None was necessary. I hope I 
     served you all well. I gave it my all. No need for thank you. 
     The pleasure was all mine.

  Mr. Speaker, this weekend, Nick Lavery will be coming home, loved, 
alive, and a hero.
  Since enlisting in 2007, Nick has been awarded three Purple Hearts. 
In the spring of 2013, Nick and his team were involved in a green-on-
blue attack, which is a strike against coalition members by people 
dressed in their own uniform. Nick sustained injuries to his right leg 
during that attack and subsequently had it amputated below his knee.
  He will receive a Silver Star with Valor and a Bronze Star with Valor 
at Fort Bragg on March 27.
  After over a year in Walter Reed, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
and the town of Medway is proud to say to Nick: welcome home.

                          ____________________