[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 126 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H7709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
     REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF AIR FORCE STAFF SERGEANT JAMES GROTJAN

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the passing of one 
of our Nation's brave servicemembers, Air Force Staff Sergeant James 
Grotjan, who lost his life in an accident while in the line of duty in 
the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. His untimely passing while 
supporting our Nation's mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria is a 
reminder of the risks our brave servicemen and -women place themselves 
in each and every day to protect our country.
  Staff Sergeant Grotjan, who went by Tyler, followed his father's 
footsteps into military service. After graduating from Bacon Academy in 
Colchester, Connecticut, Tyler joined the Air Force and eventually 
joined the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron at Johnson Air Force Base in 
North Carolina.
  His father recently said that Tyler's military service made him ``the 
proudest father on the planet.'' It takes a special kind of person to 
join the military. These are the kind people who write a blank check 
for their life to protect the country, and he was that guy. He 
absolutely loved the military.
  This Saturday his family and friends in southeastern Connecticut will 
pause for a few hours to lay Staff Sergeant Grotjan to rest and reflect 
on his life of giving. In front of his mother's house in Waterford 
there is a sign that reads: ``Fly free with the angels.''
  Mr. Speaker, I know that I join with all of Connecticut and the whole 
House in offering our thoughts and prayers to Staff Sergeant Grotjan's 
wife, Taylor; his mother, Laura; his father, Randy; his seven brothers 
and sisters; family; and friends, and pray that he will ``fly free with 
the angels.''

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