[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BRET PERRY

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                            HON. DAVID YOUNG

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 27, 2016

  Mr. YOUNG of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Staff 
Sergeant Bret Perry, of Adel, Iowa, for being awarded the Soldier's 
Medal, the highest honor a soldier can receive during peace time, for 
rescuing three people from a burning house.
  Staff Sergeant Perry was traveling to work at the U.S. Army 
Recruiting Station in Urbandale, IA, in August 2015 when he noticed the 
smoke from a house fire on a nearby hill. Once he arrived at the house, 
he found the neighbor tapping on a window trying to wake those inside. 
After no one answered the doorbell, he burst through the front door 
with his shoulder and rolled down the stairs to the bottom floor of the 
split-level house. Forced to crawl up the stairs because of the smoke, 
he checked each room. In one, he found a woman who was only awakened by 
his kicking open the door. He got her outside to safety. He then 
entered the house two additional times to rescue two young adults in 
the house. After his last daring rescue, the local fire department 
arrived. Bret left the scene and went to work. His co-workers did not 
believe his incredulous story behind arriving to work late until they 
smelled the smoke on his uniform.
  This was not the only time Staff Sergeant Perry has rushed to the aid 
of others. A few months after the fire rescue, according to the Army 
Times, Perry ran to a car which had lost control, rolled over several 
times, and ended on its side in a ditch. Perry rushed to the vehicle, 
rescuing the woman and her baby in the back seat as the car began to 
smoke. He was awarded the U.S. Army Achievement Medal for his actions. 
Years earlier when he was stationed in Italy, he ran to the aid of two 
off-duty U.S. soldiers caught up in a vicious fight, successfully 
driving off the assailants.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Staff Sergeant Perry for the selfless heroism 
that has earned him the Soldier's Medal. Throughout his life he has 
chosen to protect and serve others, and it is because of Iowans like 
him that I'm proud to represent our great state. I urge my colleagues 
in the United States House of Representatives to join me in honoring 
Staff Sergeant Perry and in wishing him nothing but continued success.

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