[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14048]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN AND SUPPORTED 
 OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM IN AFGHANISTAN AND OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM 
                                IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. MARK E. SOUDER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2003

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, with the passage of H. Con. Res. 
177, the House paid tribute to the unwavering dedication of the men and 
women who serve America as members of the armed forces. In addition to 
the professional soldiers, sailors and Marines who are risking their 
lives throughout the world, thousands of reservists have interrupted 
their lives to answer their nation's call. In my district alone, nearly 
650 members of the 1st Battalion 293rd Infantry Division of the Indiana 
National Guard are currently serving in Iraq.
  Whether active or reserve, at home or abroad, members of America's 
Armed Forces accept their difficult mission and carry out their duty 
with unparalleled skill, courage and dedication. We owe them our 
gratitude.
  In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, American forces displayed 
their incomparable skills and adaptability across the rugged terrain of 
Afghanistan, where they confronted and defeated forces that had 
threatened the security of the free world. More recently, when called 
to free the Iraqi people from the rule of an evil despot, the United 
States Armed Forces performed among the most daring, well-executed 
military missions in the history of warfare. In both instances, when 
detractors claimed that the United States would become mired in 
untenable situations, our military devised strategies to obtain the 
stated objectives with minimal casualties or collateral damage and then 
proceeded to unleash the focused force of America's soldiers to carry 
out decisively the task of victory.
  Tragically, as the war on terrorism carries American forces 
throughout the world to continue the battle for liberty, many of our 
young men and women will not return. Among them, Lance Corporal David 
K. Fribley of the United States Marine Corps, originally from Atwood, 
Indiana, in my district, was killed in the opening days of Operation 
Iraqi Freedom in an ambush near An Nasiriyah, Iraq. At that time, I 
rose in the House to pay tribute to this courageous young man, and I 
would like to express once again the nation's eternal thanks to those 
like Lance Corporal Fribley who make the greatest of sacrifices for our 
nation and our freedom.

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