[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 22]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO PFC DAMIEN L. HEIDELBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 21, 2003

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to 
Private First Class Damien Heidelberg who was killed in action 
Saturday, November 15, in Iraq. Along with seventeen other American 
soldiers, including another Mississippian, Specialist Jeremy 
DiGiovanni, Damien was killed in the collision of two Black Hawk 
helicopters.
  Damien was a member of the First Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 
101st Airborne based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The little town of 
Shubuta, Mississippi was home to Damien. He was the ninth Mississippian 
to die in Iraq since the war began, and he served his country proudly 
and with honor.
  PFC Heidelberg made the ultimate sacrifice defending our Nation and 
helped free millions of men, women, and children from the tyrannical 
grasp of an evil and brutal dictator. We Mississippians are so proud of 
the men and women we have serving in Iraq and appreciate their 
dedication to defending freedom and democracy.
  I ask my fellow Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to 
remember Damien and his family during this difficult time. To his 
family, our prayers are with you, and we are grateful for Damien's 
courage and service to the United States of America.

                          ____________________