[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Pages 25555-25556]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MS. GLORIA MARTIN

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today I honor Ms. Gloria Martin, a legal 
assistant to the Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 210th Aviation 
Regiment, Fort Rucker, AL. Ms. Martin was hired at Fort Rucker in 
January of 1980. She has 24 years of exemplary and dedicated service to 
the United States Army and Fort Rucker.
  This morning, the Army will honor Ms. Martin with the Army 
Outstanding

[[Page 25556]]

Employee of the Year with a Disability Award. Later today, Ms. Martin 
will be honored by the Department of Defense as the Army's recipient of 
the DoD Outstanding Disabled Employee of the Year Award. Ms. Martin 
will also be honored with the Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
  Ms. Martin was born on August 13, 1955, to Paul and Mallie Martin in 
Opp, AL. Ms. Martin has five brothers and sisters, including her twin 
sister Gladys. While Gladys was born healthy, Gloria suffered from 
serious abnormalities that she has battled her entire life. The 
debilitating effects of scoliosis, neurofibromatosis and osteoporosis 
required a series of major back surgeries, the first when Gloria was 5 
years old making her childhood very difficult. Through all the 
surgeries and many months of recovery and therapy, Gloria showed great 
courage and strength by working extremely hard to complete her school 
work to remain with her peers. She completed elementary school on time, 
and she also completed high school on time. She went on to complete a 
business course as a member of the Dean's List at Douglas MacArthur 
Technical College and worked two jobs before being hired at Fort 
Rucker.
  Gloria faced another major back surgery in 1992 and, despite 
complications that required a prolonged absence, she returned to her 
job at Fort Rucker with the same fierce determination and strength of 
will that had made her such a popular and respected colleague with so 
many of her fellow employees. A back injury in 2000 that left her with 
a compression fracture in her middle back did not deter Gloria from 
continuing to perform her duties from home as best she could. But 
Gloria returned to work at Fort Rucker with the help of a walker and 
cane even though she was in constant, often severe, pain.
  Gloria Martin's tenacious and courageous service to the Army and Fort 
Rucker is being very rightly rewarded. She has a wonderfully supportive 
family, and she also loves her church, the First Assembly of God in 
Kinston, AL. She has held many leadership positions in her church and 
participates in community service activities. In a recent Army Flier 
article, Ms. Martin put her experience in perspective when she said, 
``I think it's made me a stronger person because I grew up going to the 
Hospital and to doctor appointments a lot. I feel like it has 
strengthened my faith because when you have a disability, you have to 
depend more on God. My faith gives me confidence in my abilities. It 
gives me the strength to get up in the morning. I know that my faith in 
God and His care has enabled me to keep working.''
  Gloria Martin is a very special lady, and I am very proud to join the 
Army and Department of Defense in honoring her tremendous 
accomplishments and extraordinary service to our military. She is a 
role model for us all. She is an example for so many others with 
disabilities and a true testament to what faith and personal courage 
can accomplish. She has touched many lives, and I thank her today for 
her service.

                          ____________________