[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7322]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                        Sergeant Felix Delgreco

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to Sgt. Felix Delgreco 
of the Connecticut Army National Guard, who was killed in action in 
Iraq on Friday, April 9, at the age of 22.
  Sgt. Delgreco was the first Connecticut National Guardsman to be 
killed in Iraq. His unit, the C Company, 102nd Infantry, was based in 
Bristol and had been deployed in Kuwait since March. It had been in 
Baghdad for less than 3 days when Sgt. Delgreco was killed.
  Felix Delgreco enlisted in the Guard in 1999, while he was still in 
high school. Before he went overseas this year, he had been deployed 
twice once on a peacekeeping effort in Bosnia in 2001, and once in 2003 
to West Point for a homeland security mission.
  Felix Delgreco was not ordered to go to Iraq. No one forced him to 
get on a plane. He volunteered. Felix Delgreco was an American patriot 
who wanted to serve his country and to help build a brighter future for 
the people of Iraq. He took it upon himself to make a difference in his 
community and in his world.
  Felix Delgreco's friends say he was a friendly, outgoing young man 
who could fit in anywhere. He enjoyed writing poetry and playing music, 
and worked backstage during school plays at Simsbury High School. He 
was an Eagle Scout who took the values of leadership, service, and 
honor seriously. His cooking skills were well-renowned, both among his 
fellow scouts and among those who served with him in the Guard. He had 
dreams of one day running for President. From time to time, he would 
even plan out the details of his 2024 campaign with his friends.
  Sgt. Delgreco was an individual whose warmth, enthusiasm, and spirit 
touched everyone around him. Perhaps his former scoutmaster, Richard 
Gugliemetti, put it best when he said, ``Felix Delgreco made us all 
better people.''
  Felix Delgreco could have chosen many other paths in life. But he 
chose one of commitment, of duty, and of service. That was the kind of 
person Felix Delgreco was. And we are all forever in his debt for the 
tremendous sacrifice he made so that we can live in freedom and 
security.
  I extend my deepest sympathies to Sgt. Delgreco's parents, Felix and 
Claire, to his entire family, and to everyone who was fortunate to know 
him.


                          Tyanna Avery-Felder

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise in memory of U.S. Army SP4 Tyanna 
Avery-Felder, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, who was killed in the line of 
duty in Iraq. She was 22 years old.
  Specialist Avery-Felder, who served as a cook with the Army's Stryker 
Brigade, based in Fort Lewis, WA, died on April 6, 2004, 2 days after 
her convoy was hit by an improvised explosive device in Mosul, Iraq. 
She is the first woman from Connecticut to be killed in Iraq since the 
United States began military operations there in March 2003.
  Tyanna Avery-Felder's death is a sobering reminder to all of us, and 
particularly to people in my home State of Connecticut, that the brave 
members of our Armed Forces who are risking their lives for us overseas 
are no longer simply sons, brothers, and fathers. They are daughters, 
mothers, and sisters, as well.
  Specialist Avery-Felder was not the only soldier in her family. She 
was married to U.S. Army SP4 Adrian Felder. The couple met while they 
were both completing their basic training in Fort Lewis, and they were 
married on December 20, 2002, just a few months before the war in Iraq 
began. Both of them knew of the commitment, risk, and sacrifice 
inherent in military service. But it was Tyanna who was called to serve 
overseas in Iraq. And it was she who would make the most powerful 
sacrifice of all.
  Tyanna Avery-Felder was a graduate of Kolbe Cathedral High School in 
Bridgeport, where she enjoyed playing basketball and singing in the 
gospel choir. She spent 1 year at Southern Connecticut State University 
before enlisting in the Army. She was determined to be a teacher for 
young children when she finished her military service.
  Tyanna was a driven, goal-oriented young woman whose mind was hard to 
change once she made it up. And she was the kind of soldier who 
inspired her drill instructor at boot camp to compliment her on her 
toughness. But Specialist Avery-Felder also had a kind heart, and a 
loving relationship with her parents and her husband.
  All of us in Connecticut and across America owe a deep and solemn 
debt of gratitude to Tyanna Avery-Felder and to her family for her 
service to our country. On behalf of the U.S. Senate, I offer my 
deepest condolences to Tyanna's husband Adrian, to her parents, Ray and 
Ilene, and to everyone who knew and loved her.

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