[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E5-E6]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE SERVICE OF MASTER SERGEANT DOUGLAS WONACOTT
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HON. MARK E. GREEN
of tennessee
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Mr. GREEN of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the
service of Master Sergeant Douglas Wonacott of the U.S. Army's 160th
Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
MSG Wonacott enlisted in the United States Army in 2000 and he has
served with great honor and distinction in the 160th Special Operations
Aviation Regiment (Airborne) throughout his entire career. As a special
operations flight medic with the famed Night Stalkers, MSG Wonacott
provided life-saving medical treatment for scores of U.S. soldiers who
were wounded in combat operations. Time and again he demonstrated
peerless courage under enemy fire as he sought to provide emergency
care for the wounded--even when a helicopter he was providing medical
care on was shot down by enemy fire in Iraq.
MSG Wonacott served with distinction and valor in the War on Terror,
with over a dozen deployments to Iraq in a decade of conflict, as well
two deployments to Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. In the
course of his deployments, MSG Wonacott took part in Operation Red
Dawn, a crucial mission which culminated in the capture of Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein.
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In 2013, MSG Wonacott was named the Regiment Operation Assessment
Element flight medic, and in 2016 he was selected as the Regiment
Senior Medic. As the senior medic of the 160th SOAR, he supervised the
regiment's special operations flight medics, medical officers, and
physicians' assistants, and he has consistently gone above and beyond
to ensure that the soldiers of the unit have access to the physical and
mental care that they need. His merit and courage bring great credit to
the United States Army, and I am honored to have served alongside him.
Among his many awards and citations, MSG Wonacott has received two
Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart, a
Meritorious Service Medal, and two Air Medals. On behalf of the United
States Congress, I commend MSG Wonacott for his faithful and patriotic
service to our nation, and I congratulate him on the occasion of his
well-earned retirement from active duty.
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