[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3084-3085]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR ERIC COOKE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, there have been over 500 soldiers now 
killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I rise this evening to 
share with the Members of this body a letter that my office received 
today in tribute to one of these great American heroes, Command 
Sergeant Major Eric Cooke.
  ``There seem to be so few heroes today. I wanted to tell you about 
one: Command Sergeant Major Eric Cooke of the First Armored Division. 
Command Sergeant Major Cooke died on Christmas Eve when a roadside bomb 
ripped into his Humvee north of Baghdad on a convoy to Samara. He was 
43 years old.
  ``Just before his death, Command Sergeant Major Cooke had written my 
uncle, David Hunter, that he had not signed up for the 2-week Christmas 
leave available to soldiers who were deployed to Iraq because he could 
not take the leave knowing that one of his men would not be receiving 
theirs. CSM Cooke said he was lucky to have a loving wife who would 
understand why he was not coming home for Christmas. He was career 
United States Army, and she understood his commitment.
  ``On the day he died, Command Sergeant Major Cooke heard of an 
injured soldier who was in urgent need of O-positive blood, so he 
rushed to a nearby field hospital to donate his own. He almost missed 
that convoy going to Samara. Command Sergeant Major Cooke had the 
opportunity to have an armored Humvee, but he chose to give it to his 
men so they would be protected during armed escort duty, patrols and 
raid operations. His selfless service knew no limits.
  ``If you or I knew the day we would die, we might change the way we 
were living as that day approached. Command Sergeant Major Cooke did 
not need to change a thing. He lived each of his days in a selfless and 
noble manner. Every soldier's death is a tragedy, but this one seemed 
especially sad.
  ``Command Sergeant Major Cooke was buried at Arlington National 
Cemetery on January 5, 2004 at 3 p.m. with full military honors 
befitting an American hero.
  ``Written by Lucy Everett Edmondson of Rocky Mount, North Carolina.''
  Mr. Speaker, I knew Command Sergeant Major Cooke. I met him on the 
tarmac at the Baghdad International Airport on December 22, 2 days 
before his death. It was my only opportunity to ever be in a theater of 
combat operations, and it seemed relatively safe there on the tarmac. 
But as I looked into his crystal clear blue eyes, he told

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me about his 26 years of service to this country in Kosovo, Desert 
Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and now Operation Iraqi Freedom as 
well. He was looking forward to his retirement in 4 years, but very 
proud of his service to his country.
  Indeed, Ms. Edmondson, Sergeant Major Eric Cooke was a true American 
hero.

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