[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 112 (Thursday, July 17, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4612-S4613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                       Sergeant Andrew R. Looney

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I wish to remember the life and sacrifice 
of Army SGT Andrew R. Looney who died on June 21, 2010 serving our 
Nation in Lar Sholtan Village, Afghanistan. Sergeant Looney and Army 
PFC David T. Miller died of wounds sustained when a suicide bomber 
attacked their traffic control checkpoint.
  Andrew was born June 26, 1987 and grew up in Owasso, OK where he 
graduated from Owasso High School in 2005.

[[Page S4613]]

His father, Richard, said as a teen his son developed an avid interest 
in the military, and he was further inspired by military movies, in 
particular the HBO series ``Band of Brothers.'' He grew up respecting 
authority, was ``very compliable'' and took things in stride which made 
military life a good fit for him. Therefore, it was a natural for him 
to enlist in the Army immediately after high school.
  While deployed to Iraq in August 2007, he was severely wounded from 
an improvised explosive device and lost part of his right foot. After 
nearly a year of grueling rehabilitation and receiving a prosthetic at 
Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX he felt a deep sense of 
patriotism and a burning desire to serve and get back to where he felt 
he was needed. In 2009 he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry 
Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Air 
Assault, Fort Campbell, KY where on April 24, 2010 he deployed to 
Afghanistan.
  The last time the family saw him in April 2009 ``he was looking 
forward to his assignment in Afghanistan,'' his father said. He thought 
he ``was making a difference in the war, and was much needed.''
  On June 28, 2010, with hundreds of friends in attendance, the family 
remembered Andrew at Owasso Public School's Mary Glass Performing Arts 
Center. Before and throughout the service, hundreds of people lined the 
streets holding up flags in solemn tribute to Andrew.
  In 2012, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 1320 
designating the section of highway from 96th Street North to 106th 
Street North as ``Sergeant Andrew R. Looney Memorial Highway.''
  Andrew was posthumously promoted to Sergeant and was buried in 
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.
  SGT Looney is survived by his parents Martha and Cleo Looney, sister 
Joanna, and brother, Steven who completed a tour in the Navy in 
December 2009.
  Today we remember Army SGT Andrew R. Looney, a young man who loved 
his family and country, and gave his life as a sacrifice for freedom.


                       Specialist Jared C. Plunk

  Mr. President, I also wish to remember a true American hero, Army SPC 
Jared C. Plunk who died on June 25, 2010 serving our Nation in Konar, 
Afghanistan. SPC Plunk and Army SPC Blair D. Thompson died of wounds 
sustained when insurgents attacked their unit using rocket-propelled 
grenades and small-arms fire.
  Jared was born August 26, 1982 in Liberal, KS. He grew up in the 
Oklahoma Panhandle town of Turpin where he played football and 
graduated high school in 2001 before taking college classes at Seward 
County Community College.
  After relocating to Stillwater, OK, Jared and his brother Justin 
enlisted in the Army in August 2006 where they were bunkmates once 
again in basic military training. After graduation, he married his wife 
Lindsay and was assigned to 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st 
Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, Fort 
Campbell, KY.
  Jared's funeral was held July 4, 2010 at the Turpin High School 
auditorium. Reverend Stan Lehnart remembered him saying ``He was not 
the valedictorian of Turpin. He was not the star of the football team. 
He was not the boy the girls wanted to sit next to at assemblies in 
this auditorium. He is the one who gave his life for us to sit here 
today. He is the one that served his country. He is a hero.''
  Interment was in the Liberal City Cemetery in Liberal, KS.
  Preceded in death by his father, Glen ``Tiny'' Plunk, Jared is 
survived by his wife Lindsay, and two sons, 5-year-old Noah and baby 
Kason, mother Glenda Willard and her husband Gerald of Maryville, TN, 
brother Justin Plunk and his wife Caitlin of Norman, Oklahoma, brother 
Jordan Plunk of Maryville, TN, sister Ranee Massoni and her husband 
Jordon and their son Gavin of Maryville, TN, and sister Michelle Plunk 
of Maryville, TN.
  Today we remember Army SPC Jared C. Plunk, a young man who loved his 
family and country, and gave his life as a sacrifice for freedom.


                 Army Staff Sergeant Travis M. Tompkins

  Mr. President, I would also like to pay tribute to Army SSG Travis M. 
Tompkins. Travis tragically died on March 16, 2011 of wounds sustained 
when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket propelled grenade in 
Logar Province, Afghanistan.
  Travis was born November 26, 1979 at Fort Sill, OK to Leland and 
Vickie Tompkins. An active Boy Scout, he graduated from MacArthur High 
School in 1999 and enlisted in the Army in January 2000.
  He was carrying on a tradition of service in his family that dates 
back to World War I. His father, Leland Tompkins served for more than 
two decades in an Army career that began during the Vietnam war and 
ended in the closing days of the Cold War. ``He was a working 
soldier,'' Leland said. ``He was a working leader. He cared about his 
soldiers. He volunteered for everything.''
  Moving frequently, Travis' assignments included Fort Sill, OK, Fort 
Leonardwood, MO, Fort Carson, CO, and Allied Joint Force Command in 
Brunssum, the Netherlands. He married Candice Brown on March 1, 2001 at 
Fort Carson, CO and was quickly deployed to Saudi Arabia from September 
2001 to March 2002.
  He arrived at Fort Polk, LA in June 2009 and was assigned to Brigade 
Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain 
Division. In October 2011 he deployed to Afghanistan with his unit as a 
military policeman with the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th 
Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
  The couple had recently renewed their vows on their 10th anniversary 
when he was home on leave. ``It was the most perfect day,'' Candy 
wrote. ``He was a wonderful man, an excellent soldier and above all the 
best father and husband and son and brother. I don't know how I'll ever 
live without him. He was our world.''
  A loving husband, father and son, Travis is survived by his wife 
Candice, two children, Madison and Gianna, parents Leland and Vickie 
Tompkins of Lawton, OK, sister Jenny Meek and her husband Troy of 
Fletcher, OK, niece and nephew Megan Meek and Dillon Meek, and his 
mother and father-in-law Wendy and Tim Brown of Lawton, OK.
  His mother Vickie said that the main thing she wanted people who 
never met him to know is what a great son he was to her and what a 
wonderful husband he was to his wife Candy, and their children.
  Private family funeral services and interment with full military 
honors were conducted at the Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin, OK. 
Travis was posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant.
  Today we remember Army SSG Travis M. Tompkins, a young man who loved 
his family and country, and gave his life as a sacrifice for freedom.

                          ____________________