[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      SALUTE TO AN OREGON SOLDIER

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, today I rise to honor a courageous 
Oregonian who rushed to save the life of a wounded Taliban fighter. 
Sergeant Dan Trackwell, a native of Klamath Falls, OR, and a member of 
the Combined Anti-Armor Team, is currently serving in Afghanistan 
helping to secure that country's future.
  On June 13, 2004, Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 
6th Marines and Afghan Militia Forces engaged three enemy soldiers on a 
mountain side. The guerillas were tracking and reporting on the 
Battalion Landing Team's activities when coalition forces opened fire 
and wounded at least one of them.
  The Marines used a high-powered optical sight to observe the enemy 
fighters and to confirm that one was indeed wounded. As the other 
Taliban fighters escaped into the mountains the wounded man was left 
for dead.
  Sergeant Dan Trackwell was one of the four Marines who ventured up 
the mountain to find the enemy. They located him hiding behind a rock. 
He and Corporal Jesse Clingan, of Unitown, Pennsylvania, determined 
that the fighter had lost a lot of blood and appeared to be in severe 
pain.
  Corporal Daniel Dimaso, of Junction, NY, stripped off his own t-shirt 
and made a tourniquet to control the bleeding from the gunshot wound on 
the enemy fighter's lower left leg, while Pvt. 1st Class Daniel 
Fondonella, of Mt. Vernon, NY, provided security. Two hours earlier 
these men were hunting him down and now they were hurrying to save his 
life.
  The Marines knew that the Taliban fighter would die if they did not 
get him off the mountain. They gathered the injured man and signaled 
for the corpsman at the vehicles in the canyon to prepare for their 
arrival. Sergeant Trackwell carried the enemy soldier down the 
mountain.
  The wounded man was then taken to the battalion's command post, where 
the surgeon, Navy Lt. Brendon Drew, determined that he needed surgery 
soon. The Marines were instructed to keep an eye on the patient to 
ensure that he did not fall asleep while the wound was being worked on. 
As the surgeons worked on the patient, the Marines took turns holding 
the man's IV bag and blocking the bright Afghan sun from his eyes.
  After the patient was stabilized he was taken to a nearby military 
medical facility for recovery. Lt. Drew determined that it was the 
immediate medical attention and the quick intervention from the 
corpsman that saved the man's life.
  This story shows us that our Marines not only follow the rules of 
combat, they display a deep respect for humanity. For his selfless 
services to others, and to the United States in time of war, I salute 
Sergeant Dan Trackwell.

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