[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2061-S2062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                HONORING STATE PATROL SERGEANT JIM SMITH

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, on April 13, I delivered remarks on 
the Senate Floor to share my condolences for Iowa State Patrol Sergeant 
Jim Smith, who lost his life in the line of duty. I was honored to 
attend Sergeant Smith's funeral on April 16 in Independence. Jim Smith 
was revered as a man of strong convictions, love of family, and deep-
rooted faith. Iowa State Patrol Colonel Nathan Fulk gave the following 
eulogy in honor of Sergeant Smith. I ask unanimous consent that the 
eulogy be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

      Col. Nathan Fulk Remarks at the Funeral for Sgt. James Smith

       I'm going to ask all of you here today to do something for 
     Jim Smith. I'm going to ask you to do something for Jim 
     Smith's wife, Kathy, his son, Zander, and his daughter, 
     Jazlyn. And what we're asking you to do today is to open your 
     minds and your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. His presence 
     is here today. Jim Smith is here with us today.
       Our faith teaches us that in our suffering God is with us. 
     Jim's priorities were faith, family, and his commitment to 
     public service and his community. During a time in history 
     when we wonder--with conflict, adversity, and challenge, we 
     can doubt the support we have in society. However, the 
     outpouring of support for the City of Independence has been 
     truly amazing. You've reminded us why we love working, 
     serving, and living in the state of Iowa. You've reminded us 
     why we have a strong passion to serve and protect those in 
     the community. And you've shown us that love, compassion, and 
     respect are true Iowa values.
       This senseless and tragic loss is difficult for everyone 
     here today. Our Department of Public Safety family, our Iowa 
     State Patrol Family, you know we're hurting but we're not 
     broken. We are struggling but we're not lost. And we're 
     deeply saddened but we will work to find peace in the days 
     ahead. Commissioner Stephan Bayens and I are extremely proud 
     of the work you do each and every day. His expectation for 
     our leaders is we take the absolute best care of our 
     personnel. Rest assured that we are here for you and we will 
     keep you in our thoughts and prayers.
       We will remain committed to serving Iowans with integrity, 
     fairness, respect, honesty, courage, and compassion. This 
     will be vital to our healing process and into the future. We 
     are here for our troopers, our special agents, our 
     communication specialists, our local law enforcement 
     partners, and our first responders. We must navigate through 
     this together, day by day, and week by week. We're going to 
     continue to do our job and we're going to do it well. We're 
     going to do it with confidence, professionalism, and 
     integrity. We will work together to establish a pathway to 
     heal while we honor Sgt. Jim Smith's sacrifice and his 
     legacy.
       Jim's faith and family was the foundation of his life. He 
     loved being an Iowa State Trooper, but his job did not define 
     who he was. What defined him was his family, his faith, and 
     his true love for others. Sergeant Jim Smith worked for the 
     State Patrol for twenty-seven and a half years, and twenty-
     five years on our tactical unit. During that time, he served 
     as a team leader. And he was a humble man with a tremendous 
     work ethic. Jim loved his job and he set an excellent example 
     for others to follow. He mentioned how his parents provided 
     him important qualities of hard work and determination that 
     led to his success. He provided strong leadership in District 
     Ten, alongside Lt. Senne, Sgt. O'Rear, and Sgt. Trimble. They 
     all speak highly of his character, his integrity, and his 
     commitment to do the right thing for the right reason. I 
     learned this week that Jim's biggest vice was chocolate milk. 
     Chocolate milk was a treat for him when he accomplished 
     something special. I'm sure most of us in this room today 
     wish chocolate milk was our biggest vice. This just speaks of 
     Jim's character and who he was.
       On the Area C Tactical Team for the Iowa State Patrol, he 
     was extremely experienced in handling high-risk calls. He had 
     quiet confidence that provided reassurance to the Area C 
     Tactical Unit. This quiet confidence exhibited as `we got 
     this.' Jim was a sheepdog, that protected sheep. He always 
     wanted to be the number one man in the door. This was his 
     struggle with becoming a team leader on the tactical team, 
     was he would have to give up that number one position. Jim's 
     wife, Kathy, recently mentioned to the State Patrol staff why 
     he wanted to be the first to the door, and she now 
     understands it. His priority was to protect his people.
       Captain Olmstead and several other leaders in the 
     organization challenged Jim to put in for a supervisory 
     position. He struggled with this. Jim would politely decline 
     and say, ``I love taking bad guys to jail and working the 
     road.'' And he did it well. He felt that if he was promoted 
     to become a supervisor he-couldn't do his road enforcement 
     responsibilities, to protect and serve. One day Jim called 
     Captain Olmstead and said he thought it was time to take on 
     the leadership and supervisory position. He knew he needed to 
     mentor young troopers, to show them what a work ethic and a 
     commitment to the organization and to the State of Iowa meant 
     to him. He went on to be promoted to sergeant and continue to 
     do what he loved while mentoring, leading by examples, and 
     encouraging troopers to work hard each and every day.
       Jim was an extremely humble person that strove for 
     excellence in his work, was strong in his faith, and he 
     walked in Jesus' footsteps. He recently provided a sermon at 
     church entitled Act Your Age. He brought in a Superman 
     lunchbox and began to share the food that his wife, Kathy, 
     had prepared for him. Jim pulled out an apple and he said 
     that he asked his wife, Kathy, to pack him a Twinkie. He said 
     Kathy reminded him that ``we're not on a diet, we're just 
     making healthy life choices.'' But during that sermon he had 
     a powerful message, a message he wants you to hear today. Jim 
     said, ``I want my kids to know what's good and true.'' He 
     spoke of sacrificial love and that children are adorable 
     little creatures of God. He said that ``my kids fill my life 
     with love.'' His correlation with that sermon was that God 
     sees us as the children he created. You are a child of God, 
     act your age. He closed with, ``Cherish God, know that God 
     loves you, God still sees you as a child he created. So go to 
     him as a child, depend on him, love him, and seek to be loved 
     by him.'' It was a very captivating message he shared.
       Family was extremely important to Jim. He often spoke of 
     his wife, Kathy, and he loved you deeply. He spoke of his 
     son, Zander, and his daughter, Jazlyn. He loved you two very 
     much. He loved spending time with both of you and telling 
     stories to all the troopers about the trips you took and the 
     quality time you spent together. And that meant the world to 
     him. He often spoke to the troopers--he was trying to be a 
     good role model and a good father, and spoke of the dreams he 
     had for both of you two. He wanted to be a good example for 
     you. He wanted to lead you down a path of faith and to set 
     you up for success in life. You both made him an extremely 
     proud father.
       I've been struggling to find the right words to comfort us 
     all today. As we walk through this together, seeking to find 
     a sense of purpose and a sense of peace, I don't have to look 
     for those words because Jim left them for us. These 
     handwritten words are from Jim. They were in his Bible, and 
     Kathy provided them to us this week. The words were, ``Don't 
     just know, do. Live in service. Know the goal, finish strong. 
     Teach with application. Don't just tell, show. Don't just 
     learn, do. Live out God's word. Live out faith. Teach, take 
     care of our family, but also change the world.''

[[Page S2062]]

       1 Peter 2:21 says, ``For God called you to do good, even if 
     it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is 
     your example and you must follow in his footsteps.'' You 
     know, reflecting on Jim's life has impacted us all this week. 
     It has impacted me and challenged me to think about being the 
     best person I can be. So I've asked myself some tough 
     questions. Am I following in Jesus Christ's footsteps? Am I 
     following in Jim Smith's footsteps? Can I be a man that cares 
     for my community like Jim Smith cared for this community? Can 
     I be a man that loves my children like Jim Smith loved Zander 
     and Jazlyn? Can I be a man that loves my wife like Jim loved 
     his wife, Kathy? And can I be a man that loves the Lord Jesus 
     Christ, like Jim Smith loved the Lord, his God? We love you 
     Jim, we will see you again

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