[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S814-S815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIVES OF IDAHO NATIONAL GUARDSMEN

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, along with my colleagues Senator Jim Risch, 
Representative  Mike Simpson, and Representative Russ Fulcher, I rise 
today to honor the lives and service of CW4 Jesse Anderson, CW3 George 
``Geoff'' Laubhan, and CW3 Matthew Peltzer. These three fallen Idaho 
Army National Guard personnel were participating in a routine training 
flight when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Boise on 
February 2, 2021.
  Chief Warrant Officer 4 Anderson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Laubhan, 
and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Peltzer answered the call of duty to serve 
our State and our Nation with honor, distinction, and courage.
  CW4 Jesse Anderson, of Boise, was a senior instructor pilot. He had 
served in the Idaho Army National Guard since 2008, and he first joined 
the U.S. Army as an aviation warrant officer candidate in 2000. Chief 
Warrant Officer 4 Anderson is survived by his wife and four children. 
While in the Idaho Army National Guard, CW4 Anderson served as a UH-60 
A/L pilot in command, UH-60 A/L instructor pilot, C-12 fixed wing 
pilot, C-12 operations officer, company and battalion aviation 
standardization officer, and medical evacuation pilot. He served in 
multiple deployments, including two deployments to Afghanistan. He also 
participated in local search and rescue operations, wildland fire 
fighting missions in California, and civil support operations in 
Guatemala. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Anderson earned a long list of 
awards and decorations for his honorable service that include the 
Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, 
the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Component Achievement 
Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve 
Medal, the NATO Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service 
Ribbon, the Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, the Master 
Aviator Badge, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Global War on 
Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service 
Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the 
California Achievement Medal, the Idaho Emergency Duty Ribbon, and the 
Idaho Service Ribbon.
  Chief Warrant Officer 3 Laubhan, of Boise, was an instructor pilot, 
who is survived by his wife and two children. In January 2010, CW3 
Laubhan enlisted in the Idaho Army National Guard as an AH-64 attack 
helicopter repairer with D Company, 1st Battalion of the 183rd Aviation 
Regiment. He went on to serve as an AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk 
pilot, a UH-60 instructor pilot, and a medical evacuation pilot while 
with the battalion. His service included deploying in 2019 as a Black 
Hawk pilot to Guatemala in support of Operation Beyond the Horizon, and 
he is credited with flying a lifesaving mission in support of Idaho 
search and rescue operations. He also flew in support of wildland 
firefighting operations in California. The awards and decorations he 
earned for his admirable service include the Meritorious Service Medal, 
the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Component Achievement 
Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the 
Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, the Global War on 
Terrorism Service Medal, the Aviation Badge, the Army Aviator Badge, 
the California Achievement Medal, and the Idaho Service Ribbon.
  CW3 Matthew Peltzer, a resident of Nampa, was a UH-60 A/L Black Hawk 
pilot, having served in the Idaho Army National Guard since 2005. Chief 
Warrant Officer 3 Peltzer is survived by his wife and two children. 
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Peltzer enlisted into the Idaho

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Army National Guard's 1st Battalion of the 183rd Aviation Regiment as 
an officer candidate in July 2005. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Peltzer 
served as an AH-64 Apache pilot in command, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, 
an aviation mission survivability officer, an aviation safety officer, 
and a medical evacuation helicopter pilot all while with the battalion. 
His service also included serving in Guatemala as a Black Hawk pilot in 
support of Operation Beyond the Horizon. The many recognitions he 
earned for his remarkable service include the Meritorious Service 
Medal, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, the National 
Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Army Service 
Ribbon, the Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, the Senior 
Aviator Badge, the Idaho Adjutant General's Outstanding Unit Award, and 
the Idaho Service Ribbon.
  Our citizen-soldiers embody a spirit of service and the best of 
American patriotism, and this loss is felt deeply throughout Idaho. All 
three were soldiers, husbands, and fathers who left an enduring legacy 
of service and strength. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Anderson's, Chief 
Warrant Officer 3 Laubhan's, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Peltzer's 
service and sacrifices will not be forgotten, and their selflessness 
will continue to serve as an example for all of us. We extend our 
deepest condolences to the families and friends of these heroic men, 
including their fellow guardsmen. Our prayers are with their wives and 
children, friends and loved ones, and fellow soldiers in the Idaho 
National Guard as they grieve this tragic loss. Each of us owes a deep 
debt of gratitude to our Idaho Army National Guardsmen. Their service 
on behalf of Idaho and the Nation is second to none, and we thank them 
for their countless sacrifices to keep us safe. Our State and our 
country mourn the passing of three of our heroes.
  In closing, the following poem titled ``Above the Purple Sage'' was 
written by Major Andrew Whipple, retired, an Idaho veteran, to pay 
tribute to the pilots and help lift the hearts of those mourning their 
loss:

       ``From field and farm,
       From small town and large;
       Their dreams all the same,
       To answer the charge.
       They dreamed of the feel of wind in their faces,
       To roam the places of old story book Aces.
       Leaving the ground the Flying Knights rose,
       The city lights behind them,
       Their nerves so composed.
       Above the Purple Sage they soared;
       Their friendships and bonds not easily forged.
       While many lay dreaming and safe in their beds,
       The three Knights rose higher,
       From the ground they had shed.
       The Purple Sage below them,
       They flew higher and higher;
       The night sky around them,
       There was nothing so finer.
       These three Knights of the Air,
       Together they flew;
       But alas all was quiet,
       Except the coming of the dawning dew.
       Their journey to soar,
       To protect those behind;
       It came to an end,
       But forever entwined.
       Their journey continues,
       Their flight it goes on;
       With Aces and others dreamers,
       Fly on--Fly on!''

                          ____________________