[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7989-7993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mr. BURNS. Madam President, I rise to share another story that comes 
from the battlefield of Iraq. There are a thousand of these stories, 
but I think it is the way we start our day as a reminder of exactly 
what is going on at ground level--in other words, where the rubber hits 
the road.
  In the last 12 or 13 days, we have seen how deeply committed our men 
and women in uniform are. They fight for a great cause of disarming 
Saddam Hussein's regime from its weapons of mass destruction, but also 
at the same time they understand that they are our brother's keeper.
  What brought this home to me was a picture of this one marine 
carrying his injured comrade from the battlefield. It is as awe 
inspiring as any imagine that might come from the field of conflict. 
One man hurt his leg. His buddy slings him over his back and carries 
him safely, like a firefighter rescuing somebody from a burning 
building. Only in this case, it looks as though the enemy was not being 
cooperative or too helpful.
  Men serving in battle form iron bonds. They have to because it is for 
the person next to them and for their country. Those bonds often forge 
the determination and the will to win. We can see the grim 
determination etched in the face of the marine who is doing the 
carrying. He seems to be thinking: It is all right, buddy. We will be 
out of here. You are in good hands.
  Then perhaps when they reached the point where they were saved, the 
guy being carried likely responded: You do it for me, Semper Fi.
  Some would say these two marines are heroes. But I would not put them 
in the hero class. They are America. They are the story of America. The 
marine who was hurt is from Oregon. The marine who saved him is from 
South Carolina. It does not matter what State one is from; their bond 
is in the unit in which they serve and in the miniature stars-and-
stripe patch sewn on every shoulder of every sleeve.
  For the marine from Oregon, his bond was his family heritage. His 
father was a career marine who rose to the top rank of sergeant major. 
His father was in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 when terrorists bombed the 
Marine barracks, losing 241 of his buddies. The father served in combat 
in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. The day after the son shipped 
out for Kuwait, that marine's father died. The son returned home to the 
funeral, returned to the scene, and caught up with his unit.
  The depth of commitment of our brave Americans is shown on the 
battlefields not only here but also in our history. It is a cause to 
them and one that inspires us. May we who are in the policy business 
learn our lesson to be that inspiring. We, too, should be where most of 
them are, where the rubber hits the road. This is where it is carried 
out.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
  Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up 
to 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right.
  Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to the more 
than 43 United States soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in the 
mission to liberate the Iraqi people and to disarm Saddam Hussein: The 
16 who are missing, the 7 who have been captured, the 109 who have been 
injured, and all of those men and women on the ground, in the skies, 
and on the seas, who are so bravely supporting the cause of Operation 
Iraqi Freedom.
  By now, we have all seen the images on our television screens, yet 
little can we truly comprehend the real nature of the dangers they 
face, and the courage they must summon. Let us then dedicate these days 
to the acknowledgment of their heroism, for how profoundly grateful and 
blessed we are that these men and women are committed to serving our 
Nation and the ideals for which it stands during this pivotal and 
tumultuous chapter in America's proud history.
  In particular, I rise this morning to honor two Maine sons--Marine 
MAJ Jay Thomas Aubin and Marine CPL Brian Matthew Kennedy--who were 
among the twelve U.S. and British Marines killed Thursday, March 20 
when their CH-46E Sea Helicopter crashed in Kuwait, just seven miles 
from the Iraq border. While I never had the opportunity to meet these 
two exceptional Marines in person, over the last week I feel I have 
come to know them, at least in some small but very meaningful way.
  MAJ Aubin and CPL Kennedy embodied the Marine Corps values of honor, 
courage and dedication--no matter the odds, no matter the fight. They 
had the mental, moral and physical strength to follow the U.S. Marine 
decree to do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. 
Both men willingly and knowingly laid their lives on the line to 
support and defend the U.S. Constitution and protect our national 
security. Both men believed in their mission.
  Marines are often described as a family. They are initiated en masse 
by boot camps and extreme conditions many of us cannot even begin to 
imagine. They train together day in and day out and understand each 
other's struggles, fears, and feelings of pride. And they fight 
together, bound by a common code and a calling, gallantly facing any 
enemy whose goal is the destruction of our way of life.
  Indeed, they live by one simple truth, that risking American lives is 
sometimes necessary to defending America's freedom. This realization 
and their willingness to act upon it is what makes the sacrifice of MAJ 
Aubin and CPL Kennedy all the more poignant.
  So we must celebrate their lives and memories as the extraordinary 
people they truly were. I attended a service this past weekend in 
Winslow, ME, for MAJ Aubin. The day was made all the more special as 
CPL Kennedy's mother, Melissa Derbyshire, was also in attendance, and 
my heart goes out to both families brought together by sorrow in what 
for them is surely the most difficult of times. It is through 
remembrance that these two great Mainers will live on, so today and 
forevermore we will remember.
  The eldest of three sons, MAJ Jay Thomas Aubin was a native of 
Skowhegan. As a young child, his undying first love was flight. His 
grandfather was an airplane mechanic and his father spent his spare 
time buying, selling and flying airplanes. His mother, Nancy 
Chamberlain, said Jay started flying when he was two years old. She 
recalls that his father, Thomas Aubin, had some two-seater planes and 
would take him flying from Norridgewock Airport. His brothers Joel and 
Jeffrey always considered him to be the ``overachiever of the family'', 
pointing out his ``student of the month'' and ``student of the year'' 
awards from Skowhegan Area High School and his participation in after-
school activities, like band and wrestling. He even set up his own 
``boot

[[Page 7990]]

camp'' in his senior year so he would be in top physical shape.
  Jay joined the Marines straight out of high school and was fortunate 
enough to meet the woman who would later become his wife, Rhonda who 
was also a Marine at the time. They were married and have two children, 
Alicia, 10 and Nathan, 7. Jay was in the Marines for 4 years, came home 
to Maine and enrolled in Southern Maine Technical College in 1989 and 
earned an associate's degree in applied science and, later, a 
bachelor's degree in business management from the University of 
Southern Maine.
  His love and dedication to the Marines was so strong that upon 
graduation Jay re-enlisted as an officer. A true testimony to his skill 
and leadership, he was invited to join the elite corps that pilots the 
Presidential helicopter, Marine One. But before he was able to assume 
this new duty, he was asked to become a ``Top Gun'' instructor in night 
flight for helicopter pilots. He, Rhonda and their children moved to 
Yuma, AZ, in June, 2002 to complete his latest mission and he remained 
there until he was called to go to Kuwait.
  After his tragic death, his mother received a letter Major Aubin had 
mailed two days before his helicopter went down. It said, ``I want to 
thank you for everything over the years. You always tried your best to 
put us first at your expense.'' With that letter, it was as though his 
mother, Nancy, could hear her son's voice one last time--and what she 
heard was a message of undying gratitude and love.
  In recent days, his friends and family have described him as 
``genuine and friendly and always smiling'' and ``passionate about his 
job and his country.'' His alma mater held a memorial service to honor 
him and has established a scholarship in his name. This is a man who 
was well loved and who touched the lives of everyone around him, 
especially his family. His aunt, Rella Collins, describes him as ``the 
best of the best. He did us all proud.'' According to his mother in his 
last conversation before he departed, Jay was at peace with his 
mission, remarking ``If anything happens to me, just remember I'm happy 
and I'm doing what I love to do.''
  The same has been said about Corporal Brian Matthew Kennedy, whose 
mother, Melissa Derbyshire, and stepfather, John Derbyshire, live in 
Port Clyde, Me. John's description of Brian gets to the heart of his 
character--``This man loved living and life itself. His greatest 
pleasures were cooking, eating lobster and mussels, his friends, 
lacrosse, rock climbing and doing his best at any task he was given to 
do--just as he did his job as a Marine crew chief aboard the CH-46 
helicopter.'' Corporal Kennedy graduated from Glenbrook South High 
School in Glenview, IL with honors in 1995 and then attended Purdue 
University before transferring to Texas Tech. He enlisted in the 
Marines in 1999, according to his own words, ``because he thought he 
could do the best job.''
  He had been a Marine for 3 years when he was lost to us in last 
weeks' helicopter crash. His family members speak of his sacrifice. His 
mother, Melissa, recalls him having to wait in line for 3 hours to just 
call home. Brian told his mother he would do his best to come home, but 
she says she ``was lucky enough to know him for 25 years'' and she 
remembers him ``always laughing and having a good time.'' Brian's 
father, Mark Kennedy, speaks of his son's time in the Marines, saying 
Brian was ``very pleased to be in Kuwait and was thrilled to have the 
assignment he had. He gave his life in an effort to contribute to the 
freedom of the Iraqi people.''
  We will all agree that these brave young men did not die in vain--
indeed, in the words of Melissa Derbyshire, ``they died for all of 
us.'' The loss of life is the ultimate tragedy of war, but from it, we 
can hope, will come peace. It is the Jay Aubin's and Brian Kennedy's of 
our unique history that have enabled America to become the greatest 
democracy civilization has ever known. They are a constant reminder of 
the sacrifice of one generation for the next. It has been said we are 
the land of the free precisely because we are the home of the brave.
  At the first national Memorial Day service, in 1868, General James A. 
Garfield, the future President, addressed the difficulty in speaking of 
fallen Americans. During a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, 
Garfield said:
  ``With words,'' Garfield said, ``we make promises, plight faith, 
praise virtue. Promises may not be kept; plighted faith may be broken; 
and vaunted virtue may be only the cunning mask of vice.
  ``We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, 
one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by 
one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of 
country they accepted death and thus resolved all doubts, and made 
immortal their patriotism and virtue.''
  James A. Garfield could not have said it better. The enormity of the 
contribution made by our military men and women overwhelms the words we 
have within our grasp to honor that contribution. The entire nation 
will be forever indebted to Major Jay Thomas Aubin and Corporal Brian 
Matthew Kennedy. The Aubin, Chamberlain, Kennedy and Derbyshire 
families are in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope all of the Senate 
will join me in honoring these two outstanding, exceptional, 
extraordinary Marines today.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, Senator Lincoln has been coming here 
every morning on behalf of the Democratic side of the aisle, and I know 
Senator Hutchison and others have come on behalf of the Republican 
side. Senator Lincoln asked me to come down here to pay tribute to our 
young men and women. It is an honor for me to do this.
  Very sadly, this morning I come down to pay tribute to five young 
Americans who were killed in the Iraqi war, all of them from California 
or based in California. I have done this before. We have lost an 
additional 10 to whom I have payed tribute already, and that is a very 
large proportion of those who have been lost.
  As we pray for all of those in harm's way, I think it is important to 
put a human face on war, and therefore I come down to discuss the great 
loss we feel in our State.
  First is Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class Michael Vann Johnson, 
Jr., age 25, killed on Tuesday, March 25, in Iraq, while attending to 
injured marines. He was assigned to the Naval Medical Center, 3rd 
Marine Division Detachment, in San Diego, CA. Michael was born and 
raised in Arkansas and graduated from Parkview High School in Little 
Rock. He attended the University of Central Arkansas in Conway before 
joining the Navy in 1997. He is survived by his wife in San Diego, his 
parents, and his seven siblings. I send them my deepest condolences.
  MAJ Kevin Nave, age 36, was killed March 26, in a vehicle accident in 
Iraq, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine 
Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. His wife and his two children live in 
Oceanside, CA. He is from Union Lake, MI. He was on the football team 
and wrestling squad at Waterford Kettering High School in White Lake 
Township, MI.
  LCpl William W. White, age 24, was killed in a vehicle accident on 
March 29, in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Amphibious Assault 
Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was from 
Brooklyn, NY.
  GySgt Joseph Menusa, age 33, from San Jose, CA, died on Thursday, 
March 27, from a gunshot wound. He was assigned to the 1st Combat 
Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was 
born in the Philippines and moved to San Jose when he was just 10 years 
old. He served in the 1991 gulf war and was a marine recruiter in the 
San Francisco Bay area.

[[Page 7991]]

His wife and his young son live at Camp Pendleton.
  LCpl Jesus A. Suarez Del Solar, age 20, died Thursday, March 27, in 
combat action in Iraq. He is from Escondido, CA. He was assigned to the 
1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp 
Pendleton, CA. He moved from Mexico to the United States in the late 
1990s with his family. He attended San Pasqual High School in Escondido 
and graduated from Escondido's Valley High School in 2001. He is 
survived by his wife and his 1-year-old son, as well as many family 
members in Los Angeles County, San Diego, and Mexico.
  As I said, I have already read the names of 10 others into the 
Congressional Record:
  CPL Randal Kent Rosacker, age 21; LT Thomas Mullen Adams, age 27; 
CAPT Ryan Beaupre, age 30; 2LT Therrel Shane Childers, age 30; LCpl 
Jose Gutierrez, age 22; CPL Brian Matthew Kennedy, age 25; SSG Kendall 
Watersbey, age 29; SGT Michael Bitz, age 31; CPL Jose Garibay, age 21; 
CPL Jorge Gonzalez, age 20.
  So, Madam President, out of the 43 who were killed, 15 were from or 
based in the State of California. And my State mourns them. May these 
beautiful young Americans rest in peace. And may the war end soon.
  I pray for the wisdom of those who send these young men and women on 
their mission.
  The people of my State feel very strongly on both sides about this 
war. I say to them today that they have every right to express 
themselves for and against this war; that those are indeed the freedoms 
that are the basis of our Nation. I also say to both sides that however 
one feels about the policy of this war--people know how I felt--I voted 
for the Levin resolution because I did not want us to go it alone, or 
virtually alone, because I was fearful of what could happen; and I felt 
it was important to lead the world as a superpower. Whether you are for 
or against this war, this isn't about who loves the troops more.
  These troops are our children. I am a mother. I am a grandmother. 
These troops are our children. Some of them are parents themselves. So 
let us not deal with who loves our young people more. The debate is 
about policy, and there will be much time to debate that policy as 
there was before this war. And anyone who has a feeling about that 
policy has a right--I would say a duty--to express that view regardless 
of what that view is because that is what makes our country strong, 
that is what makes us different from other places.
  So that is my message to the people of my State: to respect each 
other's differences. This isn't a debate about who loves the troops 
more; it is about policy.
  California is contributing mightily to the military effort in Iraq. I 
have read you the names of many who have died so far. Tens of thousands 
of military men and women have been deployed from my State.
  One of them, Patrick Sailors, is a chief warrant officer in the 
Marine Reserves, and he is the brother of one of my most treasured 
staff members, Kelly Gill, who works out of my Fresno office. He is a 
member of the Marine Wing Communications Squadron 48, attached to the 
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force that is now in 
Iraq.
  Chief Warrant Officer Sailors has spent 17 years in the Marine Corps 
and is a second-generation marine. His wife Liz and their two children 
are awaiting his return to their home in Galt, CA. His parents, Delbert 
and Carol Sailors, live in California as well.
  I pray that Patrick Sailors and all of our men and women are safely 
returned to their families as soon as possible.
  Madam President, one of the things I have noticed--I am sure you have 
noticed--is that many of those who are losing their lives are parents. 
Before the vote on the resolution giving the President the authority to 
go to war without U.N. backing, I had a conversation with one of the 
most treasured Members of this body who had fought in World War II. He 
pointed out to me that so many of our people who are over in Iraq are 
members of the Reserves and the Guard. They have families. They have 
children. They have spouses.
  I am very concerned about those families and about the children of 
those dual-military families. I am very concerned about deploying a 
mother and a father into a combat zone at the same time.
  Two weeks ago I introduced S. 687 which would prohibit the concurrent 
deployment of both parents with minor children to a combat zone. I hope 
my colleagues will join me in this legislation.
  In discussing education legislation back home, it has come to my 
attention that in school districts where there is a heavy population of 
military families, they are finding that the young children there are 
crying out for help during this time. Impact aid is something that we 
give to these areas to help them meet the needs of those families. 
Clearly, they need this help at this time.
  There are two ways to help: One is to push forward with impact aid--I 
hope we will do that--and, secondly, to help me with this legislation 
which would say that two parents of a minor child cannot go to a combat 
zone at the same time.
  Last week there was an editorial in the Washington Post entitled 
``Mothers at War.'' The editorial calls on the Department of Defense to 
consider staggering the deployment of two parents so the impact on 
children is minimized. That is exactly what my legislation does. I hope 
I will get help with it.
  It is a horror to lose one parent in a war and one that one never, 
ever gets over. To lose two parents in such a circumstance would be 
beyond devastation. The Department of Defense should work to ensure 
that the children of dual military families never have to suffer seeing 
both parents sent off to a combat zone at the same time. This is an 
issue whose time has come.
  I ask, what is the order at this time?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). Morning business is to conclude 
at 10.
  Mrs. BOXER. Is it the understanding, further making a parliamentary 
inquiry, that the Democrats have until 10 or is that not determined?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mrs. BOXER. I will continue until 10.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, if the Senator from California will yield, 
the Senator from Texas is here to speak. I am sure the Republican 
leadership would not care if we extended morning business so she could 
complete her statement. I have spoken to the distinguished Senator from 
Colorado who will speak about a Colorado judge who will be up next.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Texas be allowed to 
continue as in morning business after the hour of 10 until she 
completes her statement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. ALLARD. No objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BOXER. I wanted to make sure I was functioning under the rules. 
It is very important that we have a chance to pay tribute to the young 
men and women who are out there. The debate over what the expectations 
were in this war will go on for many weeks and months and years. I am 
not here to debate that. What I am here to say is that when all of us 
said that war is a last resort--and that was stated by everyone--I 
think we see daily why we said that. We see daily why we have to try 
everything short of war that we can.
  In my own history in the Senate, I have voted to go to war twice. I 
voted not to go twice. Each of us in our own mind makes this decision. 
Of course, our voters will decide whether we were correct or not. But 
regardless of the policy fights, what we have to continually remember, 
every single minute, is that we have our sons and daughters over there 
right now.
  Unlike other wars, many of them are parents. So the tragedy of losing 
them cuts deeper and deeper than were they not, because the tragedy 
cuts to the parents and the grandparents and to

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the spouses and to the children. And for a child to really never know 
their father or mother cuts very deep.
  I pray that this war ends soon. I pray that we don't see more of 
these deaths and casualties and POWs. I pray that the POWs are treated 
right--they must be treated right according to the Geneva Conventions--
that we find out more about them and that the Red Cross can get in 
there and see that they are OK. I pray that we won't see casualties to 
innocent children and women. I pray for a lot.
  Today I pay tribute to my Californians who will never come back and 
see our beautiful State. I hope I won't have to come here in the days 
and weeks to come with more names.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I begin by saying I appreciate 
Senator Enzi. Senator Enzi came to the floor to speak about a subject 
very important to him. I asked him if he would mind letting us spend 
this entire hour in a tribute to the troops. He readily agreed. I 
appreciate his courtesy because we are reserving the first hour of 
every day when our troops are in the field to giving tribute to them, 
talking about some of the events that have happened in the field, 
talking about some of the acts of heroism, the individual acts, showing 
pictures of what life is like over there. I have done that on several 
occasions. I will again.
  Today I want to talk about our prisoners. As the distinguished Chair 
understands--the Presiding Officer at this time is the other Senator 
from Texas--Texas is the base for the largest number of our active-duty 
military. One in 10 active-duty personnel calls Texas home. It is the 
home base for 114,000 active-duty service members. California comes in 
second with 107,000. North Carolina comes in third with 86,000. So we 
do feel a personal effect of this war. We also feel a sense of pride 
that it is our young men and women, along with all of those from the 
other States, who are out there on the front lines, protecting the 
freedom we enjoy so much every day.
  I would like to talk about some of those who have made the ultimate 
sacrifice and some of those about whom we are not sure at this time. 
Cpl Brian Matthew Kennedy, U.S. Marine Corps, 25 years old, from 
Houston, TX, grew up in Glenville, IL. He called his mom on March 18 to 
tell her he was about to go into action. ``It was very short and very 
special,'' she says of the call. Three days later, he died, when his 
Sea Knight helicopter crashed in Kuwait. He said to his dad: We are 
ready. We are ready. We are trained. We are ready to go. He was very 
proud. His parents are very proud of him.
  SSgt Phillip Jordan, U.S. Marine Corps, 42 years of age, Brazoria, 
TX: Everyone called him Gump because he was so relentlessly upbeat. His 
son Tyler, 6, wants to be a marine like his father who was killed in a 
fire fight after a group of Iraqi soldiers feigned surrender.
  Some are missing. Specialist James Kiehl, U.S. Army, 22, Comfort, TX, 
a computer technician with the 507th Maintenance Company: Kiehl was 
among the missing in the convoy ambush near An Nasiriya. His father 
Randy has been monitoring war news on two televisions, three phone 
lines, and a computer, keeping up a strong front and a strong face for 
the media, just in case they showed James any footage from back home.
  PVT Ruben Estrella-Soto, U.S. Army, 18, El Paso: His father opposed 
his enlisting but he wanted to study engineering, and he was 
enthusiastic about going into the military and getting his education. 
He disappeared in the ambush on March 23 along with his friend Edgar 
Hernandez, who later turned up on Iraqi TV. But Estrella-Soto's fate 
was unknown. ``Not knowing anything is hard,'' Ruben Estrella, Sr., 
told reporters.
  CWO Johnny Villareal Mata, U.S. Army, 35, Pecos, TX: Mata grew up in 
a desert town just 200 miles from Fort Bliss, where his 507th 
Maintenance Company is based.
  SP Edgar Adan Hernandez, U.S. Army, 21 years old, Alton, TX: ``He's 
got a noble character,'' his mother, Maria de la Luz Hernandez, says in 
Spanish. She then inadvertently slipped into the past tense: ``He was a 
good brother, a good son, respectful to the whole world.'' Hernandez, 
though, she believes is really alive. And he, too, was shown on Iraqi 
TV.
  Captured: Army SP Shoshana Johnson, 30 years old, El Paso, TX: Her 
name means ``rose'' in Hebrew, the inspiration of an aunt who once 
worked as a nurse in Brooklyn. But her family is Panamanian American, 
and although she grew up in an Army family, she never expected to find 
herself on the front line. She is funloving, her younger sister Nikki 
says. She also says, ``She is outgoing, independent and trustworthy--
definitely not the kind of person who stays in front of the TV day in 
and day out.'' Shoshana's dream was to be a chef, but culinary school 
costs a lot of money, and Army cook was close enough. It seemed safe 
enough, too.
  But early on the morning of March 23, her father, Claude, was 
flipping through the channels looking for a cartoon show for Shoshana's 
two-year-old daughter, Janelle. He happened to catch a newscast on the 
Spanish language network, Telemundo. ``They said five Americans had 
been captured in Iraq. I caught one African-American female, 30 years 
old, from the 507th. Her name was Shana. I said it's got to be her.''
  It was. Now her large extended family, including more than a dozen 
cousins, is watching and waiting. They are inspired by the relatives of 
Elizabeth Smart who helped stay in the forefront of the press until 
their 15-year-old kidnapped daughter was returned. ``We just want her 
to be treated humanely,'' Nikki told Newsweek, ``and to return home 
swiftly and safely.''
  I talked to the mother of one of those killed in Afghanistan last 
week and she said, ``What I want is to make sure that my son did not 
die in vain.'' I assured her that her son did not die in vain; that the 
war on terrorism is going to protect the freedom for children and 
grandchildren throughout America, and our staying vigilant and staying 
on course will ensure that none of those who are already dead or are 
missing will be forgotten. They have paid a heavy price for freedom and 
we will always revere and respect them for what they have done for our 
country.
  That concludes the tributes for today. The Senate is setting aside 1 
hour every day for people to come to the floor and talk about some of 
the wonderful acts that are being done by our young men and women on 
the field as we speak today--protecting the way of life we have come to 
enjoy.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I speak today with a profound sense of 
loss. A brave, young soldier from my home State of Oregon, Brandon S. 
Tobler, was killed in Iraq. Oregon's first war fatality, Army Reserve 
SP Brandon Tobler, who was only 19, lost his life in a Humvee accident 
during a sand storm. I have the last correspondence Brandon's parents 
received from their son, an e-mail sent just 2 weeks prior to his death 
on March 22, 2003.
  Brandon was the only son of Leon and Gail Tobler of Portland. He grew 
up there and joined the military to help pay for college. He was in a 
convoy headed to Baghdad providing engineering support to the combat 
troops. Private Tobler's death reminds us that a soldier doesn't have 
to be on the combat line to face tremendous danger and possible death. 
His letter reminds of the bravery of each and every person who puts on 
a uniform for the United States. Private Tobler will be laid to rest in 
the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, OR, on April 3, 2003.
  I ask unanimous consent that Brandon's letter be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Hey Mom and Dad, How are things with you, I hope you are 
     both doing ok. I am doing fine, things here are going ok we 
     are just keeping busy. I am a little stressed but other than 
     that I am alright, I have been loaded down with a lot of 
     tasks that I have not even been trained for, but I think I am 
     doing an ok job. Anyway I am sorry that I have not written 
     you guys lately and I know I have been writing Val a bit more 
     than you guys and that is something I really intend to

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     change, I just want you guys to know that I miss you guys a 
     lot and love you guys even more and I thank you both for the 
     person you made me become and all of the things you have 
     struggled to get me over the years. I really appreciate the 
     support that you guys have given me and accepting my 
     enlistment in the Army. I feel that if I can make a 
     difference out here then I have done my part. If I can save 
     one life, if I can do something that makes a family sleep 
     easier at night without fear then I have done my purpose, 
     cause I know now that's what my calling is in life, not to 
     make money or be powerful and wealthy but to simply make a 
     difference. And I thank you my loving parents for all that 
     you have done to get me this far, but now I have to take the 
     next step and make a difference for someone else out there. 
     Well go ahead and pass this around to everyone in the family, 
     Val too . . . And to the family my love and best wishes and 
     prayers go out to you, little Veronica or shall I say big 
     Veronica, I miss playing with her and being her big cousin 
     but at least my being here will help keep her safe and grow 
     up happy and full of life as she is already. So to my family, 
     if you see a soldier one of my comrades in arms, please thank 
     them for the service they give, pray for them because we as 
     soldiers give up sooo much to come out here and in sometimes 
     make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom and 
     soldiers could always use encouragement and a thanks. . . 
     Well my love to you guys and I'll see you soon. . .
           Love to all,
     Brandon.

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