[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 18116-18117] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO ARMY MAJOR DWAYNE WILLIAMS ______ HON. SPENCER BACHUS of alabama in the house of representatives Wednesday, September 26, 2001 Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, the tragedy that has befallen our nation is unspeakable. Thousands of lives tragically cut short, right here in our homeland. For each of those lost lives, thousands more are left behind--family, friends, colleagues--suffering and trying to cope. One of those families is the Williams family. Army Major Dwayne Williams, originally from Jacksonville, Alabama, was killed as he performed his duty to his country at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Although I never had the honor of meeting Major Williams, I have come to know him through a heartfelt newspaper column written by one of his brothers, Birmingham News staff writer Roy L. Williams. With unanimous consent, I ask that this column be re-printed in the Record after my statement. Mr. Speaker, Major Williams was unquestionably a noble patriot, an honorable son and a much beloved husband, father and brother. His life was robbed from him, and from us, because he was a living symbol of American greatness. Major Williams was not taken from us so tragically because he, as an individual, was hated, but because he represented our country's strength, determination and honor. We owe Major Dwayne Williams for paying our price for freedom. We must forever honor his memory and keep his family in our thoughts and prayers. God bless Army Major Dwayne Williams. God bless his family, and God bless America. [From the Birmingham News:] Terrorist Attack Can't Destroy Spirit, Faith of Our Family (By Roy L. Williams) Like millions of Americans, I was in a state of disbelief watching televised images Sept. 11 of airplanes striking the World Trade Center. My heart sank as I thought of the pain and anguish relatives of those killed or missing must be experiencing. Never did I imagine that my own family would be going through that same emotional turmoil less than an hour later when another jet struck the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where my oldest brother, Army Maj. Dwayne Williams, worked. I was sitting at my desk watching scenes of the World Trade Center towers on fire when I received a frantic phone call from my mother, Pearl Williams. She told me a plane had just struck the Pentagon and expressed worry about Dwayne. I told her she was mistaken; the planes struck the World Trade Center, not the Pentagon, and assured her Dwayne was OK. After hanging up the phone, I looked up at the first televised images of the plane crash at the Pentagon. I immediately called my mother and informed her I would check on Dwayne's status. The next few hours were mired by frustration as phone calls to Dwayne's office in the Pentagon and home wouldn't go through. I finally reached Dwayne's home around noon and left a voice message for his wife, Tammy, to call me with word that my brother was OK. At 2 p.m., five hours after the Pentagon attack, I reached Tammy's mother and was told that she had spoken to her daughter, who was worried sick because Dwayne had not called. That was unlike Dwayne: He would have called his wife and children. worst fears confirmed Shortly before midnight with still no word from Dwayne, I couldn't sleep and turned on the television for the latest news on the Pentagon. What I heard confirmed my worst fears: The jet had struck a section housing Army offices where Dwayne worked. The next morning, I reported to work but wasn't able to concentrate. Tears flowed as I imagined the horrors my brother and other victims in the Pentagon and World Trade Center experienced. The Army and Pentagon had my brother listed as missing and feared dead. Nine days went by with no official word on Dwayne's fate, and our pain got agonizingly worse as time went by. On Friday, Sept. 21, 10 days after the Pentagon attack, the news I had dreaded finally arrived: Dwayne had been declared dead. The bad news came around 1:45 p.m. with a call from my sobbing mother: ``It's official: Dwayne's been identified as among the dead,'' she said. He had apparently been among the 150 unidentified dead victims lying at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. I didn't want to believe it, and hours later remain in a state of disbelief. Yet at the same time, I'm glad the waiting is over and the Williams family can move on in our grief. I will never be able to fully accept the fact that my brother's life was taken in such a despicable manner, but I am at peace in knowing that Dwayne was a Christian and is at home with the Lord. In my mind, I see God's angels descending upon the Pentagon and snatching Dwayne and the other innocent victims from the building just as the plane hit, carrying them home to that peaceful place we all want to go: heaven. The hardest part about this whole ordeal was the wait. We wanted closure by receiving word that Dwayne has been found. Our prayer was that he would be found alive amidst the rubble. Though chances of survival were slim, my family never gave up hope until receiving the final word of I've gone through a wave of emotions--anger and bitterness toward the terrorists; sadness and sorrow; disbelief and shock; denial and an unwillingness to accept the fact that Dwayne is dead. But closure now allows the family to move into the grief process. god's angels Although I constantly worry about the fate of my missing brother, I am at peace in knowing Dwayne is a Christian and that God's angels are protecting him. Much of the grief my wife, Patrice, and I are experiencing has been lessened by the comforting words of my pastor, Jim Lowe of the Guiding Light Church in Roebuck. For the past three months, Pastor Lowe has been preaching a sermon series on how to cope with trouble and strife. I didn't know those sermons would apply so deeply and personally in my own life. I have a horrible aching pain in the pit of my stomach that grows worse day by day. Leaning on the Lord is the only thing that can sustain someone going through a traumatic event like this. The prayers of the Guiding Light church family, relatives and friends are enabling us to cope with this tragedy. In this world that we live in, you are either going into a personal storm, in the midst of a storm or coming out of one. How you cope with the situation is determined by your faith in God. We must learn to look beyond the circumstances of this world to the powerful, comforting presence of God. Patrice and I are not only suffering anguish in the possible loss of my brother, but also one of our best friends. Dwayne served as my best man in our wedding 10 years ago and we communicated with him and his wife, Tammy, almost weekly either via e-mail or telephone. Patrice is expecting our second child in February and I am trying my best to keep her calm, but she feels and shares my pain. I thank God that our daughter, Naja, is just 2 and too young to fully comprehend what is going on. I thank God, also, that Naja did get a chance to see her Uncle Dwayne again this [[Page 18117]] past June when his family stopped by to visit us on the way to report to the Pentagon. Dwayne and I, along with our wives, vacationed together to Cancun, Mexico, three years ago and while he was stationed in Egypt in 1997, we viewed the awesome wonder of the Great Pyramid and Sphinx together. Even though the terrorists attack killed Dwayne, we still have comfort in knowing that God has called him home to heaven. A terrorist attack may be able to destroy this earthly body, but cannot destroy Dwayne's spirit, which is alive and well in all of his family members and friends. What makes this so excruciatingly painful to cope with is that Dwayne had just completed the Army Command and General Staff College in Kansas and got the assignment to the Pentagon just three months ago. It was to be the highlight of his career. One would think the military headquarters building would be the safest place in the world to serve. Dwayne served in the Persian Gulf War and spent two years in Egypt, a scene of many terrorists'attacks, yet came home unscathed. Then this happened. Dwayne is one of three of my brothers serving this great country in the military: the others are Army Sgt. 1st Class Kim Williams and my identical twin brother, Air Force Staff Sgt. Troy L. Williams. In the back of More than a statistic Let me paint a picture of Dwayne to show that my brother is more than a statistic in this senseless tragedy that killed and injured more than 5,000 innocent people. An 18-year Army veteran who got his start as a paratrooper and ranger at Fort Benning, Ga., Dwayne served in the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and is a highly decorated soldier. Dwayne is a loving husband to his wife, Tammy, and a devoted father to a 13-year-old daughter, Kelsie, and 17- year-old son, Tyler. He is the beloved son of my parents, Horace and Pearl Williams, of Jacksonville, AL. He is a protecting big brother to me and my other two brothers. He is a star athlete, having lettered in high school football and basketball, then later played for four years on the University of North Alabama football team as a pass receiver. An avid softball player, he helped lead his Army team to victory in competition while in Egypt. He is a man of strong moral character, who rarely displayed much emotion but is quick to express love in his own quiet way. And he is a friend to many. To get a true picture of the horrible ordeal and anguish this country has been going through during the past week, simply multiply the devastation my family is experiencing by 6,000--the number of other victims either killed or still missing in these attacks. It's a numbing, horrible feeling I pray that no other family has to experience themselves. Please pray for all of the victims of these terrible attacks. God bless America. ____________________