[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18262-18265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, Montana has been proud to send many of our 
young men and women over to serve in the gulf these past few months. As 
their stories come back to us, we see more clearly the personal side of 
this war. We see the bravery, the commitment, and the courage of these 
men and women. Our Armed Forces remain engaged in a complicated, 
difficult effort, and they continue to carry out their mission with the 
type of professionalism and compassion that you could expect only from 
the most dedicated and finely trained individuals.
  As I have done before, I would like to take the time this morning to 
acknowledge a few of the many Montanans we have serving in the gulf 
region. It is important that we let them know just how proud of them we 
are.
  I have recently received news that Marine CPL Chad M. Taylor, of 
Kalispell, MT, has been awarded the Purple Heart. Chad was wounded last 
month while serving somewhere between the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and 
Tikrit. He was riding in an amphibious personnel carrier when it was 
hit by two rocket-propelled grenades. He has sustained shrapnel wounds 
in his legs, and he told his folks it would probably take ``a couple of 
surgeries'' to put him right.
  Chad has not been the only member of his family serving over in the 
gulf--his twin brother Bobby is also a marine. The brothers joined up 
the same day, almost 4 years ago now. Before Chad's injury, both of 
them were stationed for a time in Baghdad, camping in separate Saddam 
palaces a few blocks apart. We hear they have seen each other fairly 
regularly, and once, passing in the steets of Baghdad, were able to 
exchange a high-five.
  The boys' father says it is some relief to know that Chad is now 
safe, though wounded, but with Bobby still in the field, he remains 
``on pins and needles.'' We are all praying for Chad's quick recovery 
and Bobby's safe return. Hopefully, it will not be too long before this 
strong family can be back together again, celebrating the service and 
success of their wonderful boys.
  LCpl Mike Tobey is also among those who have been wounded in Iraq. 
Mike's legs were broken in multiple places when a shell struck his 
troop carrier during the fighting in Baghdad. How's this for bravery 
and commitment? When interviewed by reporters he said, ``I'd give 
anything to be back with the squad right now.''
  Mike's mother Julie lives in Whitefish, MT, and Mike's bravery has 
really brought the human side of this war into the lives of local 
residents. Mike has in fact become quite a local media sensation, 
indicating just how deeply support for our troops runs in Montana.
  MAJ Patricia Camel Kelly of Ronan, MT, is currently serving as a 
surgical nurse in the 86th Combat Area Hospital in Iraq. She is working 
at an Enemy Prisoner of War camp, an experience she says will make her 
more confident as a family nurse practitioner when she returns to 
civilian life.
  Major Kelly was previously a community health nurse with the Indian 
Health Service in St. Ignatius, and has a masters in community health 
nursing from Tulane University. She entered the Army in 1987, when her 
son Richard was a junior in high school, and while I am sure she is 
correct when she says she is still adding to her skills, it is hard for 
me to try to picture something this woman couldn't handle.
  Major Kelly was one of the first tribal members to graduate from the 
Montana State University School of Nursing and is now one of many 
Native Americans serving overseas. She is of Pend Oreille descent and a 
member of

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the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Her mother Alice Camel is 
a tribal elder.
  After Major Kelly returns from Iraq, she plans to serve out the 
remainder of her time in the Army in Fort Lewis, WAF, and then move 
back home to the Flathead Indian Reservation. Her husband Isaac Kelly a 
retired Army master sergeant and her son Richard Janssen are among 
those eagerly awaiting her safe return.
  Native Americans are probably serving in the highest percentage of 
any population in the country. Certainly there is strong evidence of 
this patriotic commitment to service in Montana. A good example is the 
Rocky Boy Tribe, which has 30 members on active military duty, despite 
a population of less than 3,000. Among those serving in the Gulf from 
Rocky Boy are two sisters, Crystal and Tashina Russette, both in the 
Navy, and Jason Torivio serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
  Army CPL Angela Duran, mother of two small children and sister to a 
veteran of the first Gulf war, has now also been deployed. Her mother 
Linda will care for her two sons, ages 3 and 5, while she is away.
  Ninety-one members of the Blackfeet Reservation are serving in the 
Armed Forces currently, with roughly 40 of them deployed for the Iraq 
war. Among those representing the Blackfeet Nation in the Gulf are PFC 
Carl Logan Kipp, part of the Army's Psychological Operations, and PFC 
Ivan Redhorn, recently deployed to the Gulf. Abe Birdrattler is serving 
in the Army's 3rd Division as a medic. Two of the Tucker boys, Brian, 
of the 101st Airborne, and his older brother Ronald, an Army 
specialist, and PFC Aretha Bullplume are also among those serving from 
the reservation.
  These tribes have a strong history of community support for their 
members of the military, and they have been continuing that tradition 
with letters to their soldiers and care for their families. It feels 
good to know that when these troops come home, they will be receiving 
the kind of honor and respect from their community that all our troops 
deserve.
  PO3 Travis Woodward of Superior, MT, has been serving aboard the USS 
Valley Forge and lending his expertise to an Australian ship as part of 
a cooperative coalition effort. Prior to this conflict, he has been 
part of a boarding team searching for drugs aboard foreign ships and 
enforcing United States sanctions against Saddam Hussein's regime.
  Travis's time in the Navy is coming to an end this June, when he will 
be able to return to his wife and son back home in Montana. It will be 
a pleasure to see him rejoin his family and the Superior community.
  PFC Frank Valenti is serving near Baghdad in the Transportation 
Division of the Army's 3rd Cavalry Division. He seems to be posterboy 
of what the Army can do to transform the life of a young man. From the 
description his mother gives, it seems Frank wasn't up to much after 
high school, kind of a sleep late, party hard kind of guy, and then he 
decided to turn his life around.
  Joining the Army has really allowed him to start making something of 
himself. He married his longtime sweetheart and is serving his country 
and accomplishing things he can be proud of for the rest of his life. 
It is night and day from a few years ago for him, and it shows you a 
little bit about what kind of an institution our military is and what 
it means to become part of something larger than yourself, what it 
means to serve your country as Frank is doing.
  Frank's brother Nathan Valenti is an Army pharmacy specialist serving 
in Germany, and I know their mother is very proud of both her boys, as 
she has every right to be. We are proud of them too.
  Army CPT David Michael Gercken is a veteran of Operations Desert 
Shield and Desert Storm of the first Iraq conflict and is now serving 
in Iraq again. He is the father of three children, with a fourth child 
due July 1, when David will still be in Iraq.
  David was raised in Great Falls and went on to attend college and met 
his wife at the University of Montana in Missoula. David is a Montanan 
through and through, and just before his deployment he sent me this 
statement via his parents. I would like to share it with you:

       Montanans have always shown a pioneering spirit and a 
     dedication to democratic principles and the defense of 
     freedom. As an Army officer I am very proud to take that same 
     spirit with me when I deploy next week with the 1st Armored 
     Division. GO GRIZ!!!!

  A father, a veteran, and a proud, dedicated protector of this country 
and our values.
  SSG Neil Bohne of Frenchtown, MT, joined the Air Force in 1998 and 
was deployed in Turkey in 1999 as part of Operation Northern Watch, 
which patrolled the no-fly zone in northern Iraq prior to this 
conflict, and later helped set up the first ever Coalition Life Support 
Shop in the former Soviet Union. He is now deployed to the 379th 
Expeditionary Wing in Iraq. His letters home have been reprinted in the 
Missoulian, and he has developed quite a local following. We know the 
support of hometown folks is very important to him, as it is to all our 
troops out their putting their lives on the line so far from home. We 
want to make sure he knows how proud we are of the job he and the rest 
of our forces have done and are continuing to do as they work to secure 
the peace and protect the freedoms we hold so dear.
  LT Paul Tripp of the U.S. Navy is another man with a large hometown 
following. Paul's grandfather, Clarence, moved to Missoula from 
Minnesota with all nine of this brothers and sisters in the 1940s. The 
Tripp family has been a large and wonderful part of the community ever 
since.
  Lieutenant Tripp has been serving the war effort as a code-breaker 
stationed in Saudi Arabia. He holds two master's degrees, in human 
resources and business management, and is considering pursuing a 
doctoral degree after he retires from the service. It is no surprise 
that a man this committed to education would have a tendency to make 
insightful comments, and I still return to a few lines from e-mail that 
were printed in the Missoulian, I guess about a month ago now. I would 
like to share his words with you all because I feel he really is able 
to articulate that which so many of us feel:

       As I travel and talk to people around this region, I want 
     you to know how absolutely swelled up with gratitude and 
     pride you should be to call yourselves Americans. There are 
     men and women from every corner of our country serving you. 
     There are women who have left their children, married couples 
     who are at different bases serving at the same time, men who 
     are single fathers that have left their children, and every 
     variation in between.
       People are sleeping on cots, showering in trailers and 
     walking in the sand \1/4\ mile to go to the bathroom--all in 
     the name of freedom. We have such adaptable unselfish willing 
     citizens over here that at times I am speechless from 
     humility.

  Nickolas Kyle Neilan is currently serving aboard the USS Alonzo, a 
guided missile Aegis cruiser. Nickolas is a Big Fork and Missoula 
native who has remained in touch with his home even while nine time 
zones away, reading the Missoulian online and corresponding with folks 
back home via e-mail. His service has been filled with long stretches 
at sea without a chance to dock and escape the confines of the ship, 
but like so many other of our servicemen and women, he bears these 
hardships calmly, simply doing his job and doing it well. He is the 
kind of young person we Montanans are proud to call one of our own.
  Another Montanan serving at sea, PO3 Benjamin Taylor, is home now. He 
and Jason Torivio from Rocky Boy, whom I mentioned earlier, and Joe 
Keller of Harlowton serve aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, part of a 
battle group that, until this past Friday, had been at sea longer than 
any other carrier group now on duty. They docked in San Diego briefly 
and are now on their way back to their homeport in Everett, WA. Joe 
Keller was able to debark in San Diego and fly home to Billings/Logan 
Airport, where he was met by his wife and two children and other family 
members.
  Benjamin Taylor is a graduate of Sentinel High School and the 
University of Montana--he and his family have long been a strong part 
of the Missoula community, and I understand

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a large Missoula contingent was planning to make the trip to meet the 
ship dockside.
  As the sailors aboard the Lincoln are arriving home, other Montanans 
are just arriving in Iraq, ready to pick up the task of security and 
rebuilding, now that the task of toppling Saddam's regime is done. Many 
of these newly deployed soldiers are members of the Army Reserves who 
have been called up to active duty for this conflict. The 495th 
Transportation Battalion from Kalispell, MT, just shipped out a couple 
weeks ago, and the 889th Transportation Battalion, also primarily of 
Kalispell, shipped out last week. The task before them is complex and 
difficult. It will test their training and their character, but we know 
they are up to the job. They have our confidence, and they are in our 
prayers.
  Reservists are those who train on weekends a couple weeks a year, 
remaining ready for duty while still holding down civilian jobs and 
often raising families. When reservists are called up, they are asked 
to leave those jobs and families, to drop everything and heed the call 
to duty. Their employers are also asked to contribute, by granting 
flexibility to accommodate their training schedule, and of course to 
accommodate their sudden departure in time of conflict. The 125th 
Ordnance Battalion from Billings, MT. has contacted me with a short 
list of soldiers they feel are deserving of special recognition for 
serving in this special capacity. I hope hearing their stories gives 
you an idea of what kind of sacrifices so many of our reservists are 
gladly making in this conflict--the members of the 495th, and the 
889th, and members from other companies around the State.
  SGT Stacy F. Wright of Billings is enroute to Iraq to serve as a 
legal NCO. She has served as an active-duty member of the military 
before, but this time is leaving behind her husband, two children, a 
ranch, and a job as an administrative assistant in the Internal Revenue 
Service in order to serve her country.
  SGT JJ Hutzenbeiler of Billings is now serving in Uzbekistan as a 
supply NCO, leaving behind his wife and job as a loan officer at 1st 
Interstate Bank.
  SPEC Jesse C. Ryan is a student at Montana State University in 
Bozeman and was called up to serve in Iraq as a chemical Specialist.
  SGT Jack E. Walker of Billings is enroute to Iraq as a motor 
sergeant. Jack has also served active duty before, but now must part 
with his wife, two children and small farm to do so.
  SSGT Norman Richey, also experienced as an active-duty soldier, is 
enroute to New Mexico as a supply NCO. He leaves behind a job as a 
correctional officer for the New Mexico Department of Corrections.
  SGT Chris Alamond is serving in Iraq as a communications NCO, having 
been called away from his wife and job as a mail handler for the U.S. 
Postal Service.
  CAPT Nadine Elmore of Ekalaka left behind her husband and job with 
Montana State Human Resources to serve as a finance officer in Kuwait.
  LTC Robert E. Brekke of Bozeman is now a provost marshall in Kuwait. 
When he is home, he serves as the owner/manager of Mountain Motor 
Supply.
  LTC Teresa Otto is serving in Iraq and Kuwait as an 
anesthesiologist--the same job she has temporarily left at St. Vincent 
Hospital.
  MSG Timothy Stavnes is serving in an undisclosed location as a 
special operations intelligence chief. Master Sergeant Stavnes has 
served as a traditional active duty soldier and been called up to 
active duty from the Reserves several times before. When he is in 
Billings, he is the assistant fire chief for the city, serving his 
community when not serving his country.
  I would like to conclude my talk this morning by mentioning a 
Montanan serving overseas who is not a soldier, sailor, airman, or 
marine. Maggie Bigelow of Columbia Falls is serving in Germany as the 
financial manager of the enlisted club at Ramstein Airforce Base. She 
is also the saving grace of wounded Montanans like Chad Taylor and Mike 
Tobey, who have been flown to Ramstein for treatment. As one of those 
soldiers' mother's put it, she is an angel without wings. She has been 
keeping our boys in touch with their families, bringing them pizza, 
gifts, and most importantly, her smile and company. When one of our 
Montana servicemen is hurt and a long way from home, it is unbelievably 
reassuring to know she is there at his bedside, looking after him.
  Maggie's father served as a marine in Vietnam, and her mother is a 
longtime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars auxiliary. Her sister 
Brooke Brennan is serving in Kuwait as a staff sergeant in the Air 
Force. Maggie has grown up in a family dedicated to service, and the 
size of her heart is an inspiration to us all.
  I hope hearing a little bit about these people helps folks understand 
the depth of commitment we have from our armed services--what they are 
willing to do in service of their country. It is not easy to drop 
everything and go out and serve when your country needs you, but these 
men and women do just that, whenever they are needed. I, for one, am 
incredibly grateful for that.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as our Nation's military continues its 
efforts to stabilize Iraq, we are reminded of the courage and valor 
that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines embody each day as they 
carry out their duties. When I visited Iraq a few weeks ago, I 
experienced firsthand the difficult conditions under which they are 
performing their duties so capably.
  Today, America is relying on the citizen-soldiers of the National 
Guard more than ever. In the past year, over thirteen hundred men and 
women from the Michigan National Guard have been mobilized to serve 
around the world. Among them were the men and women of the 110th 
Fighter Wing stationed at W.K. Kellogg Field in Battle Creek, Michigan. 
Since receiving A-10 aircraft in 1990, the men and women of the 110th 
Fighter Wing have literally been traversing the globe, seeing action in 
Bosnia, Kosovo, Operation Southern Watch in Iraq, and in Southwest 
Asia. It was while serving as part of Operation Allied Force in Kosovo 
that the 110th Fighter Wing teamed with sister A-10 units from the 
Massachusetts and Idaho Air National Guards to form the ``killer 
bees.''
  Tomorrow, one of the members of the 110th Fighter Wing, Major James 
``Chocks'' Ewald, will be visiting our Nation's capitol. Major Ewald 
embodies the commitment of the men and women in the National Guard. A 
pilot for United Airlines until he was furloughed following the 
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Major Ewald is a retired Air 
Force pilot who leaves his wife and three young children in suburban 
Chicago one weekend a month to train with his National Guard unit in 
Battle Creek, Michigan.
  Major Ewald piloted an A-10 Warthog that was shot down while 
providing combat air support to ground units approaching Baghdad during 
Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was truly a relief when we learned that 
even though Major Ewald had to abandon his aircraft, he was picked up 
in a matter of minutes by U.S. Army personnel who saw him hiding in the 
reeds along the banks of the Euphrates River.
  As the Army unit approached, Major Ewald thought that Iraqi forces 
were nearing. However, when the soldiers called out to him, saying 
``Hey, pilot dude, we see you over there,'' he quickly concluded two 
things: first, his hiding place was not the best, and second, 
fortunately ``dude'' is probably not Saddam's Republican Guard calling 
for you.
  This anecdote underscores the heroism of our Nation's military. A-10 
pilots like Major Ewald put their lives on the line in support of our 
ground troops, and those troops in turn came to his aid when shot down. 
In an era when the term ``hero'' is used with increasing frequency, the 
actions of Major Ewald and his rescuers truly deserve the label of 
hero.
  Our Nation owes a debt of gratitude to our men and women in uniform 
for their professionalism, patriotism and willingness to ensure our 
Nation's security. I know colleagues join me in welcoming Major James 
Ewald, and thanking him for his service to our country.

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