[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E34-E35]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF U.S. ARMY SERGEANT ANDREW PAUL SOUTHARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ANDY BIGGS

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 12, 2024

  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and service of 
United States Army Sergeant Andrew Paul Southard.
  Andrew was a husband; a father; a son; a brother; an elite 
Nightstalker with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment; and a 
resident of Apache Junction in Arizona's `Fighting Fifth' District.
  Tragically, his life was cut short as one of five Special Operations 
soldiers aboard a Blackhawk helicopter that went down in the Eastern 
Mediterranean Sea on Friday, November 10, 2023. His sacrifice, like 
that of all our courageous fallen, is the culmination of a life of duty 
and honor.
  Andrew was born to Kim and Randy Southard in Spokane, Washington in 
1996, and moved to Apache Junction, Arizona at the age of 11. From a 
young age, he embodied the integrity and compassion instilled in him by 
his family and tight-knit community. A former high school teacher 
shared this about Andrew after his passing:
  ``He didn't do things because he thought people were going to give 
him gratitude for doing it. He did it because he thought it was 
right.''

[[Page E35]]

  And from a long-time classmate:
  ``My mother was battling cancer and it made it hard sometimes at 
school. I will never forget the compassion Andy showed me through the 
hard days at school. He never treated me differently, but always had a 
joke to keep me laughing and my mind off of what was going on at home. 
I will always he grateful for that.''
  Andrew graduated from Apache Junction High School in 2015. Coming 
from a military family he eagerly enlisted in the United States Army at 
the age of 18 and was assigned as a `15T' UH-60 Black Hawk Repairer 
stationed with the 1st Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade at 
Fort Bliss, Texas.
  In this role, Andrew deployed to Egypt for a 13-month rotation as 
part of Task Force Sinai in support of peacekeeping operations, and 
deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
  Wherever he served, Andrew's unit members recognized both his 
selfless service and the energy and time he dedicated to those around 
him. Andrew was the type of soldier and man who, while at Fort Bliss, 
pulled a woman from a burning vehicle without even telling his friends 
about it.
  When asked about his heroism, Andrew simply responded: ``I feel like 
anyone would pull over. It was just my time and place where I was that 
day.''
  A friend and fellow soldier who completed Army basic training with 
Andrew shared:
  ``It's a statement to who he was. You ask anyone; if they knew him 
for seven years or just seven days, you understood the type of person 
he was and how much he would be there for you, how much he would invest 
in you and expect nothing in return.''
  Never content with the ordinary, Andrew stared down one of the most 
grueling challenges any military service member can endure by 
volunteering for the Army's legendary 160th Special Operations Aviation 
Regiment.
  After completing Green Platoon, the regiment's rigorous training and 
assessment program in 2023, he earned his place with the First 
Battalion, 160th SOAR as an MH-60M Crew Chief based in Fort Campbell, 
Kentucky.
  After the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, elements of the 
160th SOAR were assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in support of 
our allies in Israel.
  On November 10, during a refueling training exercise over the 
Mediterranean between Cyprus and Lebanon, Andrew's aircraft crashed 
after suffering a catastrophic malfunction.
  Tragically, he and four of his teammates were killed. We mourn them:
  Chief Warrant Officer Stephen R. Dwyer, Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief 
Warrant Officer Shane M. Barnes, Sacramento, California; Staff Sergeant 
Tanner W. Grone, Gorham, New Hampshire; and Sergeant Cade M. Wolfe, of 
Mankato, Minnesota.
  Though we grieve, we celebrate Andrew's life along with his devoted 
wife Ashley, his sweet children Jack, Gavin, and Hallie, and his 
parents, brother, grandparents, and friends.
  But we also recognize that his sacrifice epitomizes the way he lived 
his life; defending the defenseless, standing by his fellow soldiers, 
and doing what was right without the thought of recognition or reward. 
May each of us follow his valuable example of courage, service, and 
friendship.

                          ____________________