[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13929-13930]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING GUEST CHAPLAIN JEFF STRUECKER

  (Mr. HAYES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, ``Struecker felt his own heart sink. His 
vehicles were all shot up. The rear of his Humvee was splattered with 
Pila's blood and brains. When the body was pulled out, it did not even 
look like Pila anymore. The top of his head was

[[Page 13930]]

gone and his face was grotesquely swollen and disfigured. Struecker's 
men were freaking out.''
  This is the scene Mark Bowden describes in his novel retelling the 
horrors of the firefight in Somalia. Here today leading us in prayer is 
a hero and a survivor of this vicious fight, Captain Jeff Struecker, 
currently serving at Ft. Bragg in my district in North Carolina. 
Captain Struecker is a model citizen and soldier for us all. A devoted 
husband and father of five, Jeff has experienced combat in such places 
as Panama, Kuwait, and Somalia and has received numerous medals 
honoring his service.
  Entering the ministry during his service at Fort Benning, Jeff has 
provided inspiration and ministered to many in the past few years. He 
states that the experience in Mogadishu called him to God, as it was 
his faith that gave him the strength to fight the rest of the night. 
This ``bullet-proof faith,'' to use Jeff's words, would serve as 
example to all of us about the power of God. We are lucky to have 
Chaplain Struecker here with us today. May God bless him and his family 
and the men and women that currently fight for our freedom.

                          ____________________