[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 28509-28510]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO ARMY PRIVATE FIRST CLASS MARLIN T. ROCKHOLD

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, at a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington 
National Cemetery on this day--Veterans Day--nearly two decades ago in 
1985, President Ronald Reagan spoke about the responsibility we, the 
living, have in remembering those who have died for us on the field of 
battle. At that ceremony, President Reagan said this:

       There is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a 
     serviceman [or woman], for we're never quite good enough to 
     them--not really; we can't be, because what they gave us is 
     beyond our powers to repay. And so, when a service [member] 
     dies, it's a tear in the fabric, a break in the whole, and 
     all we can do is remember.

  Today, I come again to the floor of the U.S. Senate to remember an 
Ohio serviceman who gave his life to protect us, to protect our 
families, and to help liberate the Iraqi people. Army Private First 
Class Marlin Tyrone Rockhold, who proudly served with the 3rd 
Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Mechanized Infantry 
Division, was killed on May 8, 2003, by a sniper in Baghdad.
  He was 23 years old.
  Marlin Rockhold--``Rocko'' to his family and friends--was born in 
Hamilton, OH, on July 1, 1979. He attended school in Butler County and 
graduated from Hamilton High School in 1998, where he was a well-liked 
student and member of the Hamilton Big Blue football squad. As his 
grandmother, Eileen Henderson, described, ``Marlin just about always 
had a smile. He was a person you just had to like.''
  Though a kidder growing up, Marlin also had a quiet, determined, 
serious side. After graduation, he set out to realize a dream--a dream 
he had since childhood. Marlin Rockhold's dream, was to join the 
military. From the time he was a little boy, he wanted to become a 
soldier. He wanted to see the world. He wanted to see a life outside of 
Hamilton. He wanted to serve the country he so dearly loved.
  And so, on March 4, 2002, Marlin joined the Army and was sent to Boot 
Camp at Fort Benning, GA. From there, he was stationed at Fort Stewart, 
GA. On January 20, 2003, he was sent to Kuwait and eventually went on 
to serve in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Mr. President, for as much as Marlin Rockhold loved the Army, he 
loved his family even more. In fact, two days before he joined the 
service, on March 2, 2002, he married the love of his life, DaVonna. 
Marlin was thrilled to begin his family with her and her daughter, 
Therashia. He loved them both with every ounce of his being. They meant 
the world to him. He devoted his life to them.
  While he was in Iraq, Marlin often wrote letters to his wife and his 
family. In one letter to his grandmother, he wrote that no one wants to 
fight a war, but sometimes you do what you have to do.
  Through his service in the Army, PFC Marlin Rockhold was doing what 
he believed in. He didn't want to leave his family. He didn't want to 
fight a war. But Marlin Rockhold did what he felt he had to do. As Rev. 
Lonnie Napier said at Marlin's memorial service:

       He was willing to join the fight for the hopeless so that 
     they might be free.

  Marlin Rockhold was a good soldier. He was a good man. Marlin's 
sister Brooke said he ``always was determined to be happy. Now he's 
with the Lord. He's happy.''
  I attended Marlin's funeral, and I am grateful to have had the chance 
to hear his family talk about the ``Rocko'' they so deeply loved and 
admired. At the service, Marlin's brother Derrick said:

       My brother is a hero, my hero, our hero. He is my 
     inspiration. My brother's legacy will live forever in our 
     hearts.

  Without question, Marlin Rockhold is a hero, and his legacy will live 
on through all who knew him and loved him.
  In addition to his wife and daughter, left to cherish his memory are 
his mother Mary, his father Gary, his stepmother Joan, his grandmother 
Eileen, his four brothers, Keith, Derrick, Gregory, and Anton, his two 
sisters, Brooke

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and Kara, his in-laws Dorothy and Clarence and Demery and Patricia, and 
several aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews.
  I know they will miss Marlin deeply. My thoughts and prayers are with 
them all.
  I would like to close with something Marlin's wife Davonna said. She 
said this:

       I just want Marlin to be remembered--that he [won't] be 
     forgotten. I'll never forget him.

  We, too, will never forget Marlin Rockhold. We will always remember 
him because, as President Reagan said at the conclusion of his remarks 
at Arlington National Cemetery on that Veterans Day 17 years ago:

       We owe a debt we can never repay. All we can do is remember 
     [the soldiers who have died] and what they did and why they 
     had to be brave for us. All we can do is try to see that 
     other young men and women never have to join them.

     

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