[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 117 (Thursday, July 24, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4852-S4853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                       Lt. Col. John Darin Loftis

  Mr. President, today I celebrate the life of a Kentucky airman who 
lost his life while wearing our country's uniform. Lt. Col. John Darin 
Loftis of Paducah, KY, a 17-year veteran of the Air Force, was killed 
on February 25, 2012, in an attack on the Interior Ministry in Kabul, 
Afghanistan. He was 44 years old.
  For his service in uniform, Lieutenant Colonel Loftis received 
several awards, medals, and decorations, including the Bronze Star, the 
Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the 
Air Force Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Air 
Force Combat Action Medal.

[[Page S4853]]

  Darin, as his friends called him, was working in the ministry as an 
adviser to a program that developed a team of U.S. service personnel 
skilled in Afghan and Pakistani culture and language. Darin himself 
spoke the Pashto language fluently and also was proficient in Dari and 
Arabic, enabling him to relate to the local Afghans. Darin was a 
liaison officer with top Afghan National Police officials in Pashto.
  Darin's work was so important that after his death he was praised by 
the Governor of Afghanistan's Zabul Province. The Governor said this 
about Darin:

       When the Afghan people see that an American is speaking 
     Pashto, they're more inclined to open up to him, and that's 
     the reason why he's so successful. He can go among the local 
     population and get their impression of U.S. forces. He can do 
     this better than any other soldier because he speaks their 
     language and knows their culture.

  Darin's commander, Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel of the Air Force Special 
Operations Command, said this about Darin: Lieutenant Colonel Loftis 
``embodies the first Special Operations Forces truth that humans are 
more valuable than hardware, and through his work with the Afghan 
people, he was undoubtedly bettering their society.''
  Darin's wife Holly agrees with these kind words but has one more 
important point to add: ``Darin was a great American, but more 
importantly he was a devoted father to our two daughters, a loving 
husband, and caring son.''
  Born on February 22, 1968, in Indiana, Darin's family moved to 
Kentucky when he was 3 years old. He attended Calloway County schools 
from kindergarten through his senior year in high school, from where he 
graduated in 1986. Described as a high school whiz kid by some, Darin 
received excellent grades and drove a black Studebaker with plain, 
cream-colored tires.
  Jerry Ainley, former principal of Calloway County High School, said:

       He was such a fine young man. I remember his smile when 
     he'd greet me in the hallways. He was very polite, a young 
     man of high morals and high integrity, I guess everything 
     you'd think of in an airman.

  Darin went on to study engineering at Vanderbilt. While there, he met 
a girl named Holly while working for a university service that arranged 
security for anyone requesting it rather than walking on campus alone.
  Darin and Holly got married, and in 1992 the couple joined the Peace 
Corps. Together they served 2 years in Papua, New Guinea, with the Duna 
tribe, where Darin spoke Melanesian pidgin. He clearly had a gift for 
languages.
  Loftis entered the Air Force in 1996 and received his commission 
through officer training school. Originally classified as a space and 
missile officer, he became a regional affairs strategist in 2008.
  By his first tour in Afghanistan in 2009, he had become a major 
serving in special operations forces. He deployed to Afghanistan for 
his second deployment with the 866th Air Expeditionary Squadron in 
2011.
  Darin continued to be an excellent student, earning three master's 
degrees over the course of his Air Force career. His wife Holly 
recalls: ``He loved learning . . . he loved going to school.''
  Family was especially important to Darin. John M. Loftis, Darin's 
father, said:

       He lived for his kids and his family, I can tell you that. 
     When he was home, he fooled with those kids all the time. 
     He'd take them to school. They are going to miss him.

  G24JY6.Darin was so skilled in communicating and respected for 
cementing relationships with the Afghans he worked with in Kabul that 
during his tour in 2009 he was given a Pashto name--Esan--which 
translates to mean generous. Darin explained the nickname to his 
daughters by saying: ``It's an honorable sense of duty to help 
others.''
  In Darin's memory, the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School in 
Florida dedicated the school's auditorium in his name--an auditorium 
Darin himself had previously taught and lectured in. The class of 1986 
at Darin's alma mater, Calloway County High School, organized an annual 
scholarship fund in his name, beginning with two $1,000 scholarships to 
members of the Class of 2014.
  We are thinking of Darin's family today as I share his story with my 
Senate colleagues. He leaves behind his wife Holly, his two daughters 
Alison and Camille, his mother Chris Janne, his father John M. Loftis, 
his brother-in-law Brian Brewer, and many other beloved family members 
and friends.
  The Airman's Creed, learned by every American airmen, reads in part 
as follows:

     I am an American Airman. . . .
     Guardian of Freedom and Justice,
     My Nation's Sword and Shield,
     Its Sentry and Avenger.
     I defend my Country with my Life.

  I hope the family of Lt. Col. John Darin Loftis knows this Senate 
believes his life and his service fulfilled every word of this sacred 
motto. That is why we pause today to remember his life, recognize his 
service, and stand grateful for his sacrifice.

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