[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                   STAFF SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER SLUTMAN

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to an American 
hero and patriot who was taken from us far too soon. Earlier this 
month, I was standing in the flight line at the Dover Air Force Base 
alongside Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester and Senator Chris Coons. 
We were there to receive the remains of three marines killed in action 
on April 8, 2019, when a roadside bomb went off in Afghanistan. Two of 
the servicemembers killed were Active Duty: Cpl Robert A. Hendriks, of 
Long Island, NY, and SSgt Benjamin S. Hines of York County, PA.
  There was a third: SSgt Christopher Slutman, a Reservist, a 15-year 
member of the New York City Fire Department, and a Delawarean. The 43-
year-old U.S. Marine was also a loving husband to his wife Shannon and 
father to three daughters: McKenna, Kenley, and Weslynn. In life and in 
death, Staff Sergeant Slutman epitomized the best of America. He 
selflessly put his life on the line to protect and serve his country 
and his community.
  It was Winston Churchill who once said, ``The reservist is twice the 
citizen.'' By that measure, Christopher Slutman was three times the 
citizen. He wore two uniforms in service to our Nation. He was staff 
sergeant in the U.S. Marines, serving in the 25th Marine Regiment, 
Fourth Marine Division in the Marine Forces Reserve, based in 
Harrisburg, PA. He was also a decorated 15-year veteran of the New York 
City Fire Department.
  Friends say that Christopher always dreamed of being a firefighter. 
He grew up in Maryland and graduated from Frederick Douglass High 
Schoo1, where he played football, baseball, and wrestled and achieved 
Eagle Scout status. Eventually, he volunteered with fire departments in 
Maryland and Washington, DC. Most recently, he split his time between 
the Bronx and Wilmington, DE. Most days, I ride down to Washington, DC, 
from my home in Wilmington to do my job. Staff Sergeant Slutman took 
the train the opposite direction to do his job. He so wanted to serve 
that he would travel from his home in Delaware to Ladder Company 27 in 
New York City. In fact, he was on military leave from Ladder Company 27 
and nearing the end of his most recent deployment with the Marine 
Reserves in Afghanistan when he and two comrades lost their lives.
  It was Slutman's work in the Bronx where, in 2014, he won the Fire 
Chiefs Association Memorial Medal for rescuing an unconscious woman 
from the seventh floor of a high-rise apartment building.
  Scripture tells us in John 15:13, ``Greater love has no one than 
this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.'' Staff Sergeant 
Slutman lived that kind of profound love: dedicating his life to 
serving others, even at his own peril, and it seems that this kind of 
selflessness and devotion to service was a hallmark of the Slutman 
household. Staff Sergeant Slutman is survived by three brothers. One of 
his brothers is in the Marines, another in the Army. The third is a 
firefighter in Washington, DC. Their father is an Army veteran and was 
a volunteer firefighter, as was Slutman's mother. Here is a family who 
has, and continues to, truly give of themselves in service of others.
  Last Friday, I was honored to have been able to join Staff Sergeant 
Slutman's family, friends, and fellow servicemembers in New York City 
to pay our respects to a man who gave his life for this country. The 
first speaker at his funeral was Marine SgtMaj Christopher Armstrong, 
who served alongside his friend Chris for 8 years. Armstrong remembered 
his friend with these words. He said, ``Upon joining the unit, I began 
observing the Marines; who they watched, how they looked at their 
leaders, and what they said. There were a small number of men that when 
they spoke, silence fell; when they issued an order, the response was 
immediate; and when they were looked upon, it was with reverence. 
Christopher Slutman immediately stood out as a leader who was respected 
and admired. He didn't pound his chest, he didn't try to impress or go 
on about what he was going to do. He just did it.''
  Armstrong continued. ``He placed his Marines' welfare before his own, 
always. Chris never sought credit, but he always gave it.''
  FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro also spoke. He described Slutman as ``the 
type of American we can all be proud of.'' And he added, ``Chris was a 
protector of those in danger, a defender to those who needed him, a 
rescuer to those who needed saving, and a leader who demonstrated his 
valor on every tour of duty both here and abroad.''
  It was a poet named Edgar Guest, who spent his life in Detroit, MI, 
and was often referred to as the People's Poet, who once said, ``I'd 
rather see a sermon than hear one any day.'' Christopher Slutman's life 
was a better lesson than any sermon. He demonstrated the absolute best 
of this country every day with his heroism and service to others. The 
way he lived his life and gave his life is a language that is clear to 
one and all.
  It is with a heavy heart that I, along with the entire First State 
and the country, offer our sincerest condolences to his wife Shannon 
and his three girls. Their dad is an American hero. I, along with our 
Governor, John Carney, and Delaware's congressional delegation, promise 
you that he won't soon be forgotten, and I know that his legacy lives 
on in you.

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