[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 149 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S6403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                PRIVATE FIRST CLASS BRANDON T. PICKERING

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a fallen 
soldier from Kentucky who was lost in battle. PFC Brandon T. Pickering 
of Fort Thomas, KY, died on April 10, 2011, in Germany from wounds 
sustained on April 8 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, when enemy 
combatants attacked his unit with small arms fire and a rocket-
propelled grenade. He was 21 years old.
  For his service in uniform, Private First Class Pickering received 
several awards, medals, and decorations, including the Bronze Star 
Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the 
Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, 
the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Good 
Conduct Medal, the NATO Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
  Says Tammy Moore, Brandon's mother:

       To know Brandon was to know love and laughter.
       When Brandon was boarding the plane to go back to 
     Afghanistan, he turned and looked at me and I thought, ``My 
     God, my son's a man.'' It was the first time I looked at him 
     and didn't see him as my little boy.

  Brandon grew up in Fort Thomas, in northern Kentucky and attended 
Woodfill Elementary, Highlands Middle School, and Highlands High 
School. As a kid growing up he loved to fish and played baseball and 
football. Brandon also practiced tae kwon do as a kid, and he earned 
his black belt by age 10.
  Brandon's high school classmates and teachers remember him as an 
unassuming student with a big heart, a good sense of humor, and a 
dedication to helping others.
  Says Highlands High School principal Brian Roberts:

       As a school, we join the Fort Thomas community and the 
     family in mourning his loss.

  Says former high school classmate Stephanie Orleck:

       Even on bad days, I was always able to turn to Brandon to 
     bring out a smile on my face.

  Brandon also had a mischievous side. His mother recalls:

       Brandon loved a good prank. In high school he decided it 
     would be funny to place a mouse trap in another student's 
     locker. When the principal called him, he admitted it right 
     away.

  That was the worst trouble Brandon ever gave his parents.
  As a teenager, Brandon also enjoyed the freedom that came with his 
driver's license.

       While teaching Brandon how to drive, he told me, ``Mom, I 
     know you don't want to hear this, but this is the happiest 
     I've ever been.''
       I told him, ``Brandon, I know you don't want to hear this, 
     but this is the most scared I've ever been!''

  After graduating high school in 2008, Brandon attended Cincinnati 
State.
  Tammy recalls:

       After two semesters, he told me he was thinking of joining 
     the Army. I asked him to give school another semester and if 
     he still felt the same, I would support his decision. The 
     third semester came and went, and Brandon was firm on his 
     decision.

  He enlisted and in September 2009 he left for basic training at Fort 
Benning, GA. After basic training he was stationed at Fort Polk, LA.
  Tammy said:

       There was a small town outside of Fort Polk named 
     Pickering; Brandon thought that was neat and so did I.
       Brandon was an only child, but when he got to Fort Polk he 
     found brothers.

  Assigned to Fort Polk in April of 2010, Brandon was assigned to the 
1st Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th 
Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. He was soon 
deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom in October of 
2010. Part of a two-man machinegun team, Brandon was 6 months into his 
first combat tour when he was fatally wounded.
  Brandon was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany 
before he died. Because of this, his family was able to be with him 
before he passed away.
  Brandon made one final gift by volunteering to be an organ donor. His 
final sacrifice was an offering of life for four Germans, including a 
6-year-old girl.
  Tammy said:

       Even in his death, Brandon saved the lives of four people.
       I often wondered how I could have raised such a wonderful 
     human being and then I think, only by the grace of God.

  The Fort Thomas, KY, road where Brandon grew up was fittingly renamed 
in his honor as a permanent reminder of his life and his deeds. The 
portion of River Road in Fort Thomas that runs from State Route 8 along 
the Ohio River to South Fort Thomas Avenue next to the Cincinnati VA 
Medical Center is now named the Private First Class Brandon T. 
Pickering Memorial Highway.
  We are thinking of Brandon's family as I recount his story for my 
Senate colleagues, including his mother Tammy Moore, his father David 
Pickering, his grandfather Thomas Pickering, and many other beloved 
family members and friends.
  Brandon was laid to rest with full military honors at the Alexandria 
Cemetery in Alexandria, KY. His tombstone bears the words, ``Live a 
life worthy of my sacrifice.''
  Tammy had some final thoughts on the words that mark her son's grave.

       People should think about that--not just for my son, but 
     for all the sons and daughters, and the ones in the past.
       What people have sacrificed to keep this country free--
     freedom isn't free, and it's not cheap. It comes at a high 
     cost, and we all have a responsibility to each other and to 
     this nation.

  I couldn't agree more with Tammy Moore's thoughts, and I want her to 
know that this Senate certainly does recognize the responsibility we 
have as a nation to honor and always remember the sacrifices of brave 
heroes like her son, PFC Brandon T. Pickering. We are in awe of his 
life of service, and we are humbled by his final sacrifice. From 
Germany to Afghanistan to Fort Thomas, we can see the lives he touched 
and the people he left better off for having known him.

                          ____________________