[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9334-9340]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I want to open today by noting what 
we saw live from Iraq yesterday starting in the midmorning. It was 
truly uplifting to see what we hoped would be the end: The fall of 
Saddam Hussein, the cheering in the streets by the Iraqi people, the 
flowers for the American and British soldiers being thrown at the tanks 
by the Iraqi people.
  We are admonished by the President and by the Pentagon that this is 
not over. There are still areas--in fact, there was a firefight last 
night that was unexpected. There was one yesterday at the University of 
Baghdad. So it is not over.
  But we know the end is very near, and we know the people of Iraq now 
understand that they are going to have the taste of freedom.
  You could see it in their faces. You could see it in the tears coming 
down their cheeks. You could see it in the children reacting against 
the statue of the fallen Saddam Hussein.
  I think we are at the beginning of the end or at the end of the 
beginning. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, which is 
freedom for the Iraqi people and doing away with the many weapons that 
have been used in Iraq against its own people and that we feared would 
be used against ours.
  I open by saying thank you to the American troops, the young men and 
women on the ground, who have fought so valiantly to make this happen. 
I could not be more proud today, after seeing what is happening in 
Baghdad and the reaction of the people and the message left by the U.S. 
troops on one

[[Page 9335]]

of Saddam Hussein's palaces: ``USA was here.''
  I hope in the days to come we will see more Iraqi people beginning to 
see what it is to be able to form a government and take control of 
their own country; to start creating jobs again and an economy that 
will allow them to have a democracy, free enterprise, and know what so 
many of us have grown up with and appreciated.
  I thank the troops this morning. I want to turn over the management 
of our time to the Senator from Minnesota for the rest of this morning. 
He will also work with the Senator from Arkansas on the Democratic side 
to fill this time talking about the heroic and touching deeds that our 
troops have been doing in the field.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Madam President, what a glorious day yesterday was. I am 
privileged to follow my distinguished colleague from Texas who, as she 
reflects upon the joy that we all felt, expressed a real sense of pride 
in the incredible work done by our fighting men and women, knowing that 
many of those who have lost their lives and those who have been 
prisoners of war came out of Texas bases.
  For all of us there is always this mixed sense. We are filled with 
joy, pride and joy for the Iraqi people to be able to taste liberation 
and freedom in Iraq. But part of my tradition in the Jewish faith is 
that at the time of a wedding ceremony--a glorious day--we wrap a glass 
in a cloth. Then, at the end of the service, at this moment of the 
greatest of joy such as the great joy we experienced yesterday, the 
groom steps on the glass and breaks it.
  Part of the sense of tradition is, in this time of joy and 
celebration, let us not forget that life has mixed blessings, and there 
are tragedies that have occurred and will occur. So as we celebrate the 
incredible joy of the liberation of Baghdad, let us not ever--and we 
will not certainly in these hallowed Chambers, certainly not in this 
country--forget the sacrifices that have been made by those who have 
given their last ounce of courage and the sacrifice of their lives for 
the freedom we witnessed yesterday.
  Let us also understand that much work remains to be done. There will 
be more death. We will suffer more casualties. The liberation of 
Baghdad is, as my distinguished colleague from Texas said, perhaps the 
beginning of the end, but it is not the end.
  While we eagerly anticipate the day when all of Iraq will be freed 
from Saddam's iron fist--and Tikrit, his enclave, is still not 
liberated, so there will be fighting ahead--it is important for us, in 
what we have done over the last few weeks, not to forget the sacrifice 
and bravery of the coalition forces still fighting to free northern 
Iraq.
  I note that many are special operations soldiers, such as the skilled 
and fearless unnamed Minnesota man who was profiled so powerfully in an 
edition of the Star Tribune. And being a Senator from Minnesota, 
obviously, I have great pride in this unnamed Minnesotan. It is a story 
of a Minnesota combat air controller who had already spent more than 30 
hours on the ridge line, directing close bomb attacks, with little 
sleep.
  In the briefings we get in the morning, just the other day we had one 
of those soldiers come in, one of those operatives who talked about the 
150 pounds of gear that they have, who talked about being on that line 
and directing in, with precision guidance, the airstrikes, to focus on 
the target, to minimize any harm to civilians who are right there.
  This story chronicled the efforts, the skill, and the courage of one 
man--one unnamed man--a Minnesotan, but it drove home the devastating 
precision and prowess of our forces, a dramatic example of the 
remaining front line, of how the coalition has swept across Iraq in 
record time through the fearless teamwork and efforts of men such as 
this.
  I do not know whether, in the chronicles of warfare, any army has 
moved so quickly and moved so decisively, moved so precisely, as have 
our troops in what they have accomplished in a few weeks in Iraq.
  I cannot share the name and the family of this brave Minnesota 
soldier at this time because the embedded reporter was not allowed to 
identify him, other than to mention that the 34-year-old air controller 
hails from near Park Rapids, MN, and loves fishing and snowmobiling 
back home, as many of us Minnesotans love fishing and snowmobiling. But 
the description of what this dedicated Minnesotan is doing so far from 
home serves as an inspiring, yet sobering, reminder of the dangers and 
challenges that still confront our forces.
  A few passages from the story underscore the perilous conditions our 
Special Forces still operate under as they coordinate and choreograph 
the pinpoint air attacks that will ultimately lead to complete 
surrender, that will ultimately lead to the liberation of all of Iraq, 
that will ultimately lead to more stability in the Middle East, that 
will ultimately lead to a safer world for us here at home in America.
  Let me talk a little about what is in that story:

       Part cowboy, part choreographer, the Minnesotan stood in a 
     bunker rife with scorpions early Tuesday morning and searched 
     the sky. A U.S. fighter jet roared overhead for the third 
     time in less than a half-hour. His casual tone masked his 
     dangerous task of directing the aircraft to bomb Iraqi 
     Republican Guard positions just a few thousand meters away.

  The reporter continues:

       As a combat air controller, he owned a 3- to 4-mile stretch 
     of horizon that is the leading edge of a northern front only 
     an hour from Baghdad--and moving closer.
       If his team's position was not locked in by a pilot before 
     the start of a bombing run, the five American operatives and 
     three Kurdish reconnaissance scouts risked being the victims 
     of friendly fire.
       Their mission this night was to pound Hill 323, an 800-foot 
     mound amid rolling hills where reinforced concrete bunkers 
     protected Republican Guard troops and supplies.

  The story goes on to vividly detail the rest of the operation, the 
extraordinary coordination between pilots providing air support and the 
Special Forces on the ground.
  The unnamed Minnesotan is using the finest battlefield technology 
ever developed--infrared lasers that allow pilots to lock on to the 
position of friendly troops and target the location of enemy forces to 
a devastating and precise effect.
  But that mission and unnamed Minnesotan also exhibited another 
remarkable trait that has been displayed to the entire world throughout 
this campaign; namely, patience and concern--the patience to make sure 
he got it right, that no civilians were unintentionally injured, and 
that his fellow soldiers were safe.
  The controller lined up two warplanes to drop their payloads, but 
called them off because he was not certain they were locked in on the 
target. The third jet, an F-15 Strike Eagle, took three checks of the 
coordinates before the air controller was confident the pilot 
understood his directions. The cluster bomb then hit its mark.
  I submit that all of us should display similar patience and concern 
to that of that unnamed Minnesota combat air controller as we enter the 
final phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom--patience to let our coalition 
troops finish the job they went halfway around the world to do, and 
concern for the Iraqi people as they prepare for liberation and 
reconstruction of their country and society.
  At the end of that operation, the nameless Minnesota soldier was 
asked if he wanted something to drink, and he requested a Guinness. I 
certainly hope to find out exactly who he is, so I can buy him one upon 
his safe return.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have this newspaper story 
from the Star Tribune printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           [From the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Apr. 9, 2003]

 Minnesotan With Special Forces Has Key Role in Strikes on Republican 
                                 Guard

                           (By Paul McEnroe)

       Kansi-Masi, Iraq.--Part cowboy, part choreographer, the 
     Minnesotan stood in a bunker rife with scorpions early 
     Tuesday morning and searched the sky.

[[Page 9336]]

       A U.S. fighter jet roared overhead for the third time in 
     less than a half-hour. ``Let's rope that bird,'' he said in a 
     casual tone that masked his dangerous task of directing the 
     aircraft to bomb Iraqi Republican Guard positions just a few 
     thousand meters away.
       As a combat air controller, he owned a 3- to 4-mile stretch 
     of horizon that is the leading edge of a northern front only 
     an hour from Baghdad--and moving closer. Any pilot flying 
     through his quadrants--a fighter jock in an F-15 Strike Eagle 
     or a plodder in a B-52--had to check in with him and the U.S. 
     Special Forces team he's working with in the hills north of 
     the Iraqi-controlled city of Khanaqin.
       If his team's position was not locked in by a pilot before 
     the start of a bombing run, the five American operatives and 
     three Kurdish Peshmerga reconnaissance scouts risked being 
     the victims of friendly fire. All it took was a garbled radio 
     transmission or a misunderstanding of map coordinates.
       And after the friendly fire airstrike on a convoy near 
     Mosul on Sunday, when at least 18 Kurdish fighters were 
     killed and three U.S. special operations soldiers were 
     injured, the Minnesotan was not about to let his team be the 
     latest victims.
       ``Sparkle him now,'' he said to the burly man at his side. 
     The Special Forces' team sergeant commanding the night 
     mission pointed his M-4 rifle into the sky and beamed up an 
     infrared laser line. The pilot would use that to mark the 
     unit's forward position in the jet's navigational computer 
     and thus eliminate the chance of a friendly fire episode.
       The pilot locked on, but in a radio check the controller 
     was concerned that the pilot did not have the accurate 
     coordinates of the Iraqi target. What seemed minor could 
     easily become a disaster.
       The controller already had spent more than 30 hours up on 
     the ridge line, directing close bomb attacks with little 
     sleep. He wanted to double-check himself again. So he 
     burrowed into a dark nylon bag at the bottom of the bunker, 
     where he could turn on a light without alerting any Iraqis to 
     the team's position.
       Like a boy reading beneath the bedcovers at night, he 
     scrutinized his Global Positioning System card, checking off 
     degrees and meters while circling planes waited on his word.


                              Air attacks

       Two weeks ago, Special Forces unit members helped Kurdish 
     fighters rout hundreds of Islamic militants from the area 
     around Halabja. Now they're focusing on the Iraqi troops, and 
     they allowed a Star Tribune reporter and photographer, and a 
     two-man team from Knight-Ridder Newspapers, to accompany them 
     on a combat air-support mission. The only conditions were 
     that their identities and certain strategic information not 
     be published for the sake of their security.
       Since the war began, the northern front has been 
     characterized by air attacks in the Kirkuk, Mosul and 
     Khanaqin areas--and little else. U.S. soldiers, frustrated at 
     the lack of action in the region, speak of ``being Turked,'' 
     a reference to Turkey's refusal to allow U.S. ground troops 
     to cross its border into Iraqi Kurdistan to attack Iraqi 
     forces from the north.
       That has led to increased pressure on Special Forces 
     charged with combat air-support missions--such as this one, 
     based in a western state and specializing in mountain 
     warfare.


                          They all see the end

       The Special Forces team moved out of their small base near 
     Khanaqin outfitted with electronic gear, Kevlar vests, night-
     vision goggles, 9-millimeter pistols strapped to their thighs 
     and M-4 assault rifles slung over their shoulders. They were 
     in for a 12-hour night mission along a newly taken line that 
     moves south by the day.
       ``This is the farthest south the Pesh have been since 
     1991,'' the team sergeant said.
       They all can see the end, and the push is on. The sergeant 
     spoke of the 34-year-old Minnesota air controller this way: 
     ``He's our workhorse. We can't get him off the mountain.''
       The air controller joined the Air Force at 19 and has made 
     it a career. Mention Fifth Crow Wing Lake near Park Rapids, 
     Minn., and he brightens about the years of good fishing he's 
     had in that area. He's also a snowmobile enthusiast.
       He works beside people who are considered among the U.S. 
     military's elite. In this Special Forces unit's last class, 
     only 17 of 90 men survived the cut, the sergeant said.
       Besides the team sergeant, the squad has a weapons sergeant 
     who patrols the perimeter, an assistant team leader 
     responsible for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, a 
     communications man and the air controller.
       They are models of reserve around strangers, but hints of 
     their wild side seep out while they make small talk and 
     prepare to do their job.
       Some speak of parachute jumps at nearly 30,000 feet and not 
     opening their chutes until they're 3,500 feet from the 
     ground. Others trade mountain climbing tales.
       There's laughter over who got arrested--and who should've 
     been--at a Texas bar called the Broken Spoke. They argue over 
     what's worse to find in a sleeping bag--snakes or spiders. 
     When a man talks of his children's birthdays or anniversaries 
     missed while off on a mission, the rest turn quiet.
       Their mission this night was to pound Hill 323, an 800-foot 
     mound amid rolling hills where reinforced concrete bunkers 
     protect Republican Guard troops and supplies.
       ``We see headlights,'' a soldier said. Then they counted up 
     to 48 Iraqi vehicles on the move--lights on--a suspected 
     armor movement that got everyone juiced because it meant that 
     strikes could fill the night.
       ``B-52s in 15 minutes,'' the air controller said. He wasn't 
     responsible for directing strikes against these targets, 
     because the column was 6 kilometers away and a closer Special 
     Forces unit was taking over.
       ``Hopefully they waste that column so we get some stuff 
     over here and blow some ... up,'' the radio man said.
       The sergeant ordered the weapons man to work the perimeter, 
     fearing that Iraqis might be probing the hills to see whether 
     their old bunkers were occupied. He studied the ridge line 
     where the column's headlights briefly popped up. ``They're 
     being sent to be cannon fodder, '' he said.
       Simultaneously, a car started a slow, meandering drive 
     toward the two trucks used by the Special Forces team. It 
     moved slowly enough for the sergeant to order the men into 
     defensive positions, and an anti-tank weapon was readied. 
     After 10 minutes, a Peshmerga was sent down for a look. It 
     turned out that another Peshmerga had strayed into the area.
       ``If we'd lit him up, they [the Iraqis] could have fixed 
     their positions to fire on us,'' the sergeant said.
       Soon, orange bursts lit up the sky, as a B-52 struck the 
     column. Then came a jolting rumble of sound that shook the 
     ground. Secondary explosions around a command bunker were 
     seen.
       Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, it was time to finally call in the 
     strikes on Hill 323. First, a reconnaissance plane scoured 
     the area. The news was good.
       ``He has hot spots in the buildings,'' the controller said, 
     referring to the detection of heat and a sign that troops 
     were hiding in one of the bunkers.
       A jet was called in, but the pilot had to divert after the 
     controller spent 10 minutes lining him up for an attack run. 
     The coordination has to be both precise and quick, and this 
     one wasn't.
       ``By the time they get here, they only have 10 minutes of 
     fuel left,'' he said, expressing mild frustration that this 
     pilot wasn't able to line up his target before the window 
     closed. ``Some planes are loaded with extra weapons instead 
     of more fuel--it's a choice the air commanders make.''
       The visibility was so bad that another pilot--whose craft 
     was not equipped with an optic scanning pod--couldn't see the 
     controller's laser. He also departed with his payload intact.
       The third jet, an F-15 Strike Eagle, was on its way but it 
     took three checks of the coordinates before the air 
     controller was confident the pilot understood his directions.
       ``I don't like all this sparkle,'' he said, referring to 
     having to repeatedly signal the pilots.
       ``Neither do I. It causes too much confusion,'' the 
     sergeant said. Then he raised his M-4's laser beam to the 
     sky, and the pilot locked on.
       Next, the sergeant painted the bunker 2,700 meters away 
     with his laser. The pilot now had the distance marked between 
     his air controller and his target.
       ``I have you in sight,'' the air controller said. ``Roger, 
     you are clear and hot.''
       That was the final go-ahead for the airstrike.
       The cluster bomb--not the usual weapon used on bunkers--set 
     off a brilliant white flash and exploded in the air over the 
     target, spewing mini-bombs in a wide apron on top of the 
     hill. Two more strikes followed.
       ``Thanks for the good work, and have a good night,'' the 
     controller said to the departing pilot.
       More strikes came in from another air support team down the 
     line. About 2 a.m., an errant bomb from a B-52 landed a 
     couple of miles to the north of this unit. Once again, 
     everyone was reminded why the controller burrowed into his 
     nylon bag and checked the grid coordinates as if his life 
     depended on it.
       Somebody popped open a can of soda, and the muffled sound 
     of the hiss didn't escape the controller's ear. He was 
     starting to relax.
       ``That's a Guinness for me, right?''
       He finally left the bunker at 7 a.m., looking ragged.


                      Supplemental Appropriations

  Mr. COLEMAN. Madam President, on a final note, as the conferees to 
the emergency supplemental appropriations bill do their work, I hope 
they will include the unemployment benefits to laid-off airline workers 
that Senator Murray, I, and others worked so hard with Chairman Stevens 
to include in the Senate bill.
  Some of those laid-off workers from Northwest Airlines in Minnesota 
are now on military duty in the Persian Gulf, called up as part of 
Operation Iraqi Freedom. One of them, a mechanic named Todd Stock, 
keeps our C-130 military planes airworthy to take

[[Page 9337]]

crucial supplies to ground troops in Iraq.
  While on duty in the Middle East, Todd learned he is one of the 4,900 
Northwest workers who will lose their jobs because of the downturn in 
the airline industry. When he is serving his country so nobly, Todd 
Stock should not have to worry about whether he can take care of his 
family when he gets back home. His wife Sheila has told him just to get 
home safely and that they will get through it somehow.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with Todd Stock. Our thoughts and 
prayers are with that unnamed Minnesotan. Our thoughts and prayers are 
with those men and women on the front line. Our thoughts and prayers 
are with the families of those who have lost loved ones in a great 
sacrifice, a worthy sacrifice, but the pain being so deep. They need to 
know that our love surrounds them at this moment.
  So I hope the conferees will keep in mind Todd Stock and the other 
mobilized mechanics serving our country when they make their final 
recommendations.
  I hope Americans will have the patience to understand that though 
yesterday was a great day, more remains to be done and our support, our 
commitment, our love, and our prayers will never waiver from being with 
those who are on the front line doing their duty, doing the job we need 
them to do, doing it so bravely and so proudly.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, my good friend, the senior Senator 
from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison, has been so steadfast in coming to the 
floor each day to salute our troops. I thank her for her leadership and 
for her diligence. I think she has done a tremendous job. I am honored 
and pleased to have been working with her. She has just done a fabulous 
job and I think has really elevated the recognition of the service of 
our men and women in combat. She has done an excellent job. I thank her 
very much.
  As Senator Hutchison has said on numerous occasions, and as she began 
today, we are so very proud of our troops, the men and women who are 
serving our great country, with their brave service and their 
tremendous courage, and also their humane treatment of Iraqi civilians 
and Iraqi prisoners of war.
  The United States has complied with the Geneva Convention and 
international laws concerning the treatment of prisoners, and we call 
on the followers of Saddam Hussein to do the same.
  The incredible vision we saw yesterday, as Senator Hutchison 
mentioned. We saw on the television the cheers of the Iraqi people over 
the freedom they had begun to feel in their blood and their bones, the 
idea that they no longer would have to fear expressing themselves, 
their ideas, their goals, their dreams for their families and for their 
country. What a wonderful feeling for all of us. As Senator Coleman 
mentioned, we don't want to think that everything has been 
accomplished. We know there is still much to be done. But again, what a 
vision to keep in our eyes and in our hearts of a people who have 
reached something we have long had in our grasp in this wonderful 
country.
  Earlier this week I learned just how well the United States is 
treating our Iraqi POWs, how well we are working with our service men 
and women and our armed services to make sure we are doing right by the 
Geneva Convention.
  In earlier remarks on the Senate floor some of my colleagues may 
recall I reported that a member of my staff, my congressional staff, 
Marine Reservist LCpl Jason Smedley had been injured in battle. Jason 
returned to the United States this week on a brief medical leave, and 
he stopped by my office on Monday. My entire staff sat in rapt 
attention for some time as Jason shared his experiences in the war on 
Iraq. Jason said while he was being treated for his injuries in a 
Kuwaiti hospital, Iraqi soldiers lay across the room from him, 
receiving the identical quality of medical care. Think of that--
American soldiers recovering from battle wounds alongside Iraqi 
prisoners of war.
  I remember the words from Jason. He said: We have definitely kept 
with the Geneva Convention.
  Contrast that with what we have heard and seen of the Iraqi regime's 
criminal treatment of American POWs, including Jessica Lynch, not to 
mention the ghastly exhibitions of bodies of American soldiers in 
shallow graves in which our soldiers found their fallen brothers and 
sisters.
  Jason reported to us many Iraqi citizens are, to quote him, 
``definitely glad we are here.'' He told of seeing Iraqi mothers 
bringing children who had been ill for years to U.S. soldiers for 
medical care. One mother's child had had problems with her eyesight 
since birth, and that mother was full of hope as she carried her child 
to a U.S. soldier. Imagine that--Iraqi children receiving better 
medical care from our soldiers in the field than they got for years 
under a brutal dictator who built opulent palaces for himself.
  We have seen news reports of the guerrilla tactics employed by Iraqi 
troops posing as civilians and then ambushing our soldiers. Jason said 
soldiers of the Iraqi regime stood out even when they were wearing 
civilian clothing because they appeared to be strong and healthy, and 
it was such a stark contrast to the malnourished, despondent Iraqi 
civilians Jason had encountered.
  Jason said he had many opportunities to talk to Iraqi civilians, and 
he made it his mission to seek their opinions of Saddam Hussein. 
Without exception, he said, they all wanted Saddam Hussein to be 
removed from power.
  An Arab-speaking man who had accompanied Jason's unit as an 
interpreter had a very personal reason for volunteering to serve with 
the U.S. forces. He himself had been abducted and tortured by the Iraqi 
regime after they had invaded Kuwait. Jason had been assigned to a unit 
that was to rebuild Iraq. He was not in a combat unit. When he was 
injured during an enemy attack, he was bedding down after helping 
evacuate about 500 Iraqi civilians who had been caught in the firefight 
from an Nasiriyah. This Sunday at National Naval Medical Center in 
Bethesda, MD, the Commandant of the Marine Corps awarded Jason a Purple 
Heart.
  Since Jason has been back in the United States, he has burned up the 
phone lines calling to check on family members of fellow marines. He 
said several men had missed the birth of their children, and he 
recalled one marine listening intently on a ship-to-shore phone as his 
wife tried to describe their newborn son to him.
  That same marine was delighted when mail arrived with a CD-ROM video 
of his new baby as the ship steamed toward the Middle East. Jason had 
checked up on the marine's wife and many others because he said he and 
his fellow marines were so concerned about how their families were 
weathering the stress of the war.
  As I e-mailed Jason on his trip over on the ship, I was amazed at the 
response in the e-mail I got back. It wasn't about him. It was about 
me.
  He said: Senator, I want to lift up a prayer for you. He said: I am 
heading out to do what I am supposed to do. I want to lift up a prayer 
for you and all Americans because we are getting ready to enter into 
something so important, sharing something with the rest of the world, 
particularly a people who have not and do not understand what freedom 
feels like.
  How incredible of a young man that age, leaving to defend his country 
and, more importantly, what his country means to him.
  He has asked me to encourage all Americans who know families of our 
Armed Forces to check in on those family members regularly because that 
show of support is the best way we can help our troops.
  Senator Hutchison and I have come on different occasions to talk 
about this. We have lifted up one another's personal stories we have 
had from the war. It is important that the American families of our 
service men and women and that our service men and women who are there 
in harm's way understand as we lift up these tributes to our

[[Page 9338]]

troops, we are not just talking about those we know the best and most 
intimately, those who are a part of our family, we as a body are 
lifting up our pride, our prayers, the honor we feel for each and every 
service man and woman who is there putting themselves in harm's way on 
our behalf.
  It is so critical to take to heart Jason's words that those of us out 
there living in different communities know one of the best things we 
can do for our troops is to reach out to their families--families who 
are frightened, nervous, who may not be hearing as much as they want 
from their loved ones serving this great land.
  I hope we all, both as Senators, as Congress in general, and more 
importantly, as Americans reach out to those very important families.
  While Jason's mother and I shared a sigh of relief that Jason is 
temporarily back in the United States out of harm's way, this dedicated 
young man says he hopes to return to his unit until the job is done, 
the job of sharing those incredible treasures we, as the American 
people, hold so dear, to help share with the Iraqi people what freedom 
means, to be able to speak out your ideas, your thoughts, your prayers, 
and ideals, how you believe your country can be stronger and should be 
run--things that oftentimes, as we move about our busy lives, whether 
it is to the grocery store or to drop children off at school, we take 
for granted.
  I am proud of Jason Smedley, whose courage and character exemplifies 
our U.S. soldiers; a young man who spent nearly 1 month on a ship en 
route to Kuwait; a young man who had the chance to take a shower just 
once a week in Kuwait and not once after entering Iraq; a young man who 
helped dig out his unit's camp in a former trash dump where even the 
roaches were dead; a young man who endured hot days and cold nights in 
stinging sandstorms; a young man who has been in five hospitals in the 
last 2 weeks, but always reaching out to the patient next to him; a 
young man wounded in battle who saw his fellow soldiers lose their 
limbs; a young man whose wish is that he might get to go back and be 
with his unit to help rebuild Iraq for the oppressed people of that 
country.
  I am so very proud of all of our brave and selfless young men and 
women serving in harm's way in Iraq and throughout the world, just as 
Jason Smedley has been--going with the spirit of America to share what 
each and every one of them holds so near and dear to their hearts: the 
freedoms and the treasures of being an American.
  Madam President, may God bless them and bless our Nation as we 
continue to bring what democracy and freedom can share with the entire 
world. I thank you for this opportunity.
  Again, I compliment my colleague from Texas, Senator Hutchison.
  At this point, I will yield the floor to my colleague from Delaware, 
Senator Carper, and thank him so much for taking the time to be here 
with us.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coleman). The Senator from Delaware is 
recognized.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I express my appreciation to Senator 
Lincoln and Senator Hutchison for making sure we had this opportunity 
again today to remember those who are serving and their families who 
are here supporting them and pulling for them and praying for them.
  The video from the other side of the world--the visual images from 
the other side of the world over the last 24 hours are extraordinary to 
us all and, for the most part, they are encouraging. While many of us 
are troubled by the scenes of looting that occurred in parts of Baghdad 
yesterday, we will remember for many years the scene of the jubilation 
where people were realizing a time of oppression in their lives was 
coming to an end when the prospect for greater personal freedoms and 
liberties was denied. I know not everybody in this country and in this 
body supported the notion of our engaging in an armed conflict with 
Iraq at this time. We all, regardless of how we felt as we approached 
the day of decision, celebrate how well and effectively our men and 
women have served in that conflict. We regret the loss of life in that 
conflict.
  I want to talk about two young men from my State for whom the last 
respects will be paid this Saturday as we lay them to rest. Before I do 
that, I was privileged to be Governor of Delaware for 8 years. One of 
the things I liked most about being Governor was, as an old Navy 
officer, they let me be chief of the Delaware Army National Guard. In 
the last several months, we have had the opportunity to send off unit 
after unit within the Delaware National Guard, to be mobilized and, in 
many cases, deployed and, in some cases, closer to home and, in other 
cases, to be sent to the other side of the world. I want to mention 
some of the work those men and women are doing. Some of them fly C-130 
aircraft, which are part of the air bridge between America and the 
Middle East. The beginning of the air bridge, in many cases, is a C-5--
we fly those out of Dover Air Force Base--which is the largest cargo 
aircraft in the world. They are being flown today by active-duty 
personnel and by the Reservists, and they fly very much as one team, 
one unit, literally as a wonderful, coordinated, combined team.
  At the very end of the air bridge is, in many cases, the C-130s. They 
are flown by members of the Air National Guard out of Delaware, Alaska, 
Arkansas, Texas, and other States. Those men and women who are flying 
those, or maintaining those aircraft, or serving as military police, 
whether in this country or in the Middle East, and those people who are 
using heavy equipment, those who are providing health care--a number of 
those people come from my State of Delaware. They are male, female, 
officers, and enlisted. In many cases, they have left behind a spouse, 
children, their families, in order to serve us and, in some cases, they 
are doing so at great economic disadvantage to their families and, in 
some cases, at considerable danger to themselves.
  We are grateful for their service. We are proud of each one of them. 
I say today to their family members--those who are tending the home 
fires and making sure the families stay together and the kids are going 
to school and are getting fed and clothed and all--a real special thank 
you for your willingness to share with us at a challenging time in our 
Nation your sons, daughters, husbands, wives, moms, and dads.
  At the Dover Air Force Base, we traditionally carry a lot of the 
materiel and men and women who need to go around the world in support 
of our military actions. During the Afghanistan war, roughly 30 percent 
of the equipment that moved into Afghanistan in support of that 
conflict came through Dover Air Force Base and flew out on C-5s from 
there. We are continuing to carry a large part of the strategic airlift 
burden from Dover and places like Travis and other Air Force bases 
around the country.
  There is another unit stationed at the Dover Air Force Base that gets 
probably even more attention these days than do the C-5 aircraft, and 
that unit is the mortuary. We hear almost every day of the remains of 
American soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, that are being returned to 
America and to their loved ones. En route to their loved ones, those 
remains come through the Dover Air Force Base and the mortuary there. I 
visited there last month and also in the past. While the people who 
work there get precious little recognition for the work they do, they 
do some of the toughest work of anybody in this country--military or 
civilian.
  I stand here today and take my hat off to those men and women. Some 
are active duty, some Reservists, and others have volunteered for the 
service. But there is no more emotionally demanding and draining work 
that you or I could do for our service men and women and their 
families. I really want to express my gratitude--and, I know, that of 
every Member of this body--for the work going on there at this moment.
  Among the bodies that have been returned to their loved ones through 
that Air Force base in Dover through the mortuary are two young men, 
one 21 years of age from Seaford, DE, Army Ranger SP Ryan Long. Another 
is a

[[Page 9339]]

young marine sergeant from New Castle, DE, who grew up in New Jersey 
and came to Delaware when he went to high school and married his high 
school sweetheart. He perished last week at the age of 23 on the other 
side of the world. His name is Brian McGinnis. As our Presiding Officer 
knows, one of the toughest tasks we do as Senators is to call families 
of those who have died and try to convey to them our anguish, grief, 
and our sympathy, and offer whatever we can to be supportive and 
encouraging in this tough time. As a father of two young boys myself, 
13 and 14, I cannot imagine the difficulty of living with the loss of 
your child. Life prepares us to know that some day our grandparents 
will pass away, and eventually our parents, and maybe our siblings, and 
maybe even a spouse; but there is little in this life to prepare us to 
know that we are going to lose a child.
  In this case, the Long family and the McGinnis family have lost their 
sons. They will be laid to rest this Saturday in the First State, 
Delaware.
  I wish to mention the service of each of them. Ryan Long comes from a 
family that has served in our military for generations. He is fourth 
generation. While at Seaford High School, he was vice commander of the 
junior Navy ROTC unit. He ended up joining the Army and became a 
ranger.
  He was at a checkpoint barely a week ago in an area northwest of 
Baghdad. A car driven by a woman went through that checkpoint. Out of 
that car emerged another woman who appeared to be pregnant. She came 
out of the car screaming, and three Army personnel approached the car. 
The car exploded, and the driver, the woman who had fled from the car, 
and our three Army personnel, including Ryan Long, were killed. The 
soldiers approached that car believing there was a problem and 
attempted to extend a helping hand. For that, they lost their lives.
  I am sorry to say that the Ryan family has lost their son. To Rudy 
and Donna Long--I had the privilege of speaking with the dad who is a 
retired major--we extend our heartfelt sympathy.
  Seaford is the home of the first nylon plant ever built. It is the 
first ever built in the world. Ryan used to play golf at the Seaford 
Nylon DuPont Country Club. He played on the golf team at school and did 
a lot of other activities in the community before he enlisted in the 
Army.
  In the northern part of our State, there is a beautiful little town 
called New Castle. It has the largest high school in our State, the 
William Penn High School. Brian McGinnis went to William Penn High 
School, having grown up in New Jersey earlier in his life. At that 
school, Brian met a gal named Megan. He did not just meet her, he 
married her after school. He leaves behind a widow, a dad who lives in 
New Jersey, Bill Mcginnis, and a mom, Mildred Williams, who now lives 
in Port Charlotte, FL.
  Brian was flying a helicopter. The helicopter, as we have seen too 
often in this war--any aircraft, whether fixed wing or rotary--crashed. 
He was aboard the helicopter, a Huey, and his life was lost. He will be 
buried this Saturday in New Castle, DE.
  I send to his dad with whom I have spoken, to his mom, and to Megan, 
his bride, our sympathies. My office, my staff is doing whatever we can 
to be of help and support to them. We remember them today. We feel 
their anguish. Our hope is time will heal some of that pain. Again, we 
stand ready to provide whatever assistance and comfort we can 
throughout our State of Delaware to help the two families who have lost 
their loved ones.
  I close with a comment on the war itself. Many of us have said the 
toughest part of the war lies ahead. There is still fighting to take 
place in other parts of the country that are not under allied control. 
The tough part of the war does lie ahead. It is not just keeping the 
peace and restoring order in places such as Baghdad and to stop the 
looting, but it is helping to build a democratic institution within a 
country where there are disparate groups--Shiites, Sunnis, and the 
Kurds in the North.
  There is a history of distrust and hatred. We need to help put to bed 
those generations of mistrust. That is not going to be an easy job. It 
is not a job we and the Brits should assume. This is a job which others 
should join in fulfilling, tackling, and also paying. We should welcome 
their involvement.
  Mr. President, I yield back whatever time I have not consumed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, it is fitting that we reserve time each morning to pay 
tribute to the troops. I, too, mourn the loss of so many of our young 
men and women who went over to Iraq and will not be coming home. Our 
hearts go out to their families and friends and for these brave men and 
women who put their lives on the line for our freedoms.
  To listen to the stories this morning, to hear the accounts of the 
two young men from Delaware who will not be returning home to their 
families, to sit in this Chamber and listen to Senators from the 
various States talk about those who will not be coming home, as a 
country we mourn for them, but we also have cause to celebrate and be 
joyous with those who will be coming home.
  I stand before you with a great sense of pride for a young man from 
Alaska who we just learned, quite honestly by way of a photograph that 
appeared on Monday, was pinned by General Franks with a Bronze Star for 
battle. It is one of those success stories; it is one of those tributes 
that is important to mention as we speak about those who have not only 
given their lives but those who have gone into battle and are coming 
back to celebrate the victories.
  The young man from Alaska about whom I would like to speak this 
morning is SGT Lucas Goddard. He has been in the military for just 3 
years. He is 21 years old. He is part of the Army's 327th 1st Brigade 
of the 101st Airborne Division. It was on Monday in Najaf that General 
Franks pinned the Bronze Star on Sergeant Goddard.
  Imagine yourself, Mr. President, as a parent, as we both are, your 
son or your daughter is overseas. They are in a conflict and you have 
not heard from them in several months, not knowing their situation, not 
knowing whether they are safe, really not knowing where they are. Your 
eyes are glued to the coverage of the war to glimpse anything.
  The parents of Sergeant Goddard received a phone call on Monday from 
a reporter who had seen the picture, saw that the young man had been 
identified as being from Alaska, and contacted Mrs. Goddard. The 
reporter said: So what do you think? Mrs. Goddard was speechless. She 
was so happy, she was so joyous, not necessarily that her son had 
received this incredible recognition, but that her son was alive.
  The headline in the hometown newspaper that day was: ``Medal and 
Media Images Mean Army Son is Alive in Iraq.'' Think about yourself as 
a parent wanting to know, waiting to know, getting a call from a 
reporter saying: What do you think? But the good news is that your son 
is alive and, on top of that, to be given a medal such as the Bronze 
Star.
  I had an opportunity last evening to speak with Sergeant Goddard's 
mother, Kathy Goddard. She lives in Juneau. It was heartwarming to 
speak with her about the pride she has for her son and the sense of 
giving that she has as a parent. She said to me: It's not just Lucas; 
it is not just Lucas who is out there. There are other young men and 
women from Sitka, who are in Iraq, who are serving our country, and we 
are concerned for all of them.
  Sitka is a very small community in southeast Alaska. It is an island 
of about 8,000 people. In that community in the grocery store, I 
understand from Mrs. Goddard that what they have done is put a list in 
the grocery store of the individuals who are serving our country right 
now so that people can get a sense of who is out there serving, the men 
and women we honor.
  I asked Mrs. Goddard: Can you tell us what it was that your son did 
to receive the Bronze Star? In the picture that we saw, there was no 
real recognition. It was just an acknowledgment

[[Page 9340]]

that this young man had received the honor.
  She does not know. Her comment to me was: It really does not matter 
what he was recognized for, but whatever it is, we are exceptionally 
proud. We cannot wait until he gets home and he can sit around the 
dinner table and tell us all that he has gone through.
  She said he is a very humble young man and does not like to tout his 
accomplishments. She says he is probably going to be embarrassed over 
all of the hoopla that is going on right now, but there is good reason 
for hoopla. It is still very sketchy right now, but in referencing 
several of the newspaper accounts, we understand that General Franks 
awarded the Bronze Star for valor to two soldiers who had fought in the 
battle for Najaf. SGT James Ward led the team that stormed the military 
compound on the south side of the city, and SGT Lucas Goddard 
spearheaded the assault on the local airfield, taking direct enemy 
fire.
  In further newspaper accounts, as best we have been able to tell, we 
understand they had captured a compound of weapons while under fire by 
AK-47s, grenade launchers, and rocket-propelled grenades. So our brave 
young man from Sitka did what he was trained to do and was recognized 
for it. He will be going home to Sitka to celebrate with his family.
  I need to share a mother's intuition with the Chair and my 
colleagues. Mrs. Goddard said she woke up on Monday sensing that she 
was going to hear from her son that day.
  She said: You know, you just sometimes get that intuition; I just 
felt something.
  She had not heard from her son for upward of a month prior to this. 
That afternoon she received a phone call from a reporter asking: What 
do you think? We have seen the newspaper account.
  Well, that was not a direct contact from her son necessarily, but she 
said: You follow that mother's instinct. I knew that I was going to 
hear from him today. And that is what she heard.
  So to all of the men and women from Sitka, from all over my State, 
from all over the country, our hearts go out to you. We are extremely 
proud of all of you at this moment, like Sergeant Goddard, who so 
bravely is defending our freedom and our democracy. We must acknowledge 
all of our men and women for the sacrifices they are making for 
America's freedom, our freedom, the freedom of this Chamber, and the 
freedom of millions of people all over the world as we are protected by 
those who are serving in our Armed Forces.
  Sergeant Goddard is an example to all of us. It is this rock solid 
courage that we think about. This is what our military is all about, 
unfaltering bravery. So the recognition Sergeant Goddard received is 
one that we look to, we say thank you, and God bless.
  I am going to share one last communication from Sergeant Goddard. 
This was in an e-mail message he sent to his family some months ago. It 
is a testament of his good will, and I believe his honorable service to 
our country. In his message, he stated:

       I will be thinking of you all while over there. It is 
     because of people like you that we fight the tyrants who 
     stand in the way of freedom and peace.

  So to Sergeant Goddard and all of those men and women who are serving 
us for our freedom, we thank you.
  I yield the floor, and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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