[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14953-14954]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                 honoring staff sgt. stephen g. martin

  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart and deep 
sense of gratitude to honor the life of a brave young man from Warsaw, 
IN. Staff Sgt. Stephen G. Martin, 39 years old, died in the Walter Reed 
Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, after sustaining serious 
injuries at the hands of a suicide bomber, just outside a U.S. military 
compound in Mosul, Iraq. Stephen sacrificed his own life to save the 
lives of hundreds of fellow soldiers by causing the suicide bomber to 
ignite the bomb before entering the compound. One other soldier also 
lost his life in this selfless and heroic action.
  Stephen spent his early childhood and junior high years in Columbia 
City, IN. He then moved to Pennsylvania and graduated from East 
Pennsboro High School in 1983. Stephen later joined the Army's 101st 
Airborne Division and worked to become a member of the Trenton, NJ 
Police Department, until he moved to Rhinelander, WI where he was a 
sergeant in the department. Just last year, Stephen joined the Army 
Reserve 330th Military Police Detachment. He was deployed to Iraq to 
help train local police forces. Stephen's sister, Susan Fenker, told 
the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that Stephen told his family ``he was 
proud

[[Page 14954]]

to help Iraqis build a free society and give hope to the next 
generation.'' With his entire life before him, Stephen chose to risk 
everything to fight for the values Americans hold close to our hearts, 
in a land halfway around the world.
  Stephen was the twenty-ninth Hoosier soldier to be killed while 
serving his country in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This brave young 
soldier leaves behind his father, Jim; his mother, Carolyn; his wife, 
Kathy; his two daughters, Jessica and Brianna; his son, Seth; and 
stepdaughters Jackie, Jessica and Kaitlyn. May Stephen's children grow 
up knowing that their father gave his life so that young Iraqis will 
some day know the freedom they enjoy.
  Today, I join Stephen's family, his friends and all Americans in 
mourning his death. While we struggle to bear our sorrow over his 
death, we can also take pride in the example he set, bravely fighting 
to make the world a safer place. It is his courage and strength of 
character that people will remember when they think of Stephen, a 
memory that will burn brightly during these continuing days of conflict 
and grief.
  Stephen was known for his dedicated spirit and his love of country. 
When looking back on the life of his late friend and co-worker, 
Rhinelander Police Chief Glenn Parmeter told the Fort Wayne Journal 
Gazette, ``He was always a soldier striving to bring about a better 
life for everyone, whether as a Rhinelander police officer or a 
military policeman in Iraq.'' Today and always, Stephen will be 
remembered by family members, friends and fellow Hoosiers as a true 
American hero and we honor the sacrifice he made while dutifully 
serving his country.
  As I search for words to do justice in honoring Stephen's sacrifice, 
I am reminded of President Lincoln's remarks as he addressed the 
families of the fallen soldiers in Gettysburg: ``We cannot dedicate, we 
cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living 
and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor 
power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember 
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.'' This 
statement is just as true today as it was nearly 150 years ago, as I am 
certain that the impact of Stephen's actions will live on far longer 
than any record of these words.
  It is my sad duty to enter the name of Stephen G. Martin in the 
official record of the United States Senate for his service to this 
country and for his profound commitment to freedom, democracy and 
peace. When I think about this just cause in which we are engaged, and 
the unfortunate pain that comes with the loss of our heroes, I hope 
that families like Stephen's can find comfort in the words of the 
prophet Isaiah who said, ``He will swallow up death in victory; and the 
Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.''
  May God grant strength and peace to those who mourn, and may God be 
with all of you, as I know He is with Stephen.

                          ____________________