[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 22600-22601]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


  tribute to warrant officer adrian b. stump and sergeant tane travis 
                                  baum

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, the Bible tells us that ``Greater love than 
this has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.'' I rise 
this morning to pay tribute to two American heroes from my home town of 
Pendleton, OR, who made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down their 
lives for their friends, their country, and the cause of freedom.
  WO Adrian B. Stump and SGT Tane Travis Baum were two of five soldiers 
who were lost in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter as it was 
returning from an ongoing operation in southern Afghanistan.
  Warrant Officer Stump was 22 years of age. He was the son of Jerry 
and Anne Stump, who instilled in Adrian the values of hard work, 
honesty, and integrity. He was a graduate of Pendleton High School, and 
he was well known in my community for being an outstanding young man, 
who always had a smile on his face. Like many east Oregonians, he loved 
the outdoors and could often be found hiking, fishing, and camping.
  Adrian always dreamed of flying helicopters. And after he graduated 
from high school, there was no question of what he wanted to do. He 
wanted to serve his country. Indeed, he recently expressed to a friend 
of mine how great it was to be able to wake up in the morning and do 
what one loves to do.
  SGT Tane Travis Baum was 30 years old. He was married to his high 
school sweetheart, Tina, and they were the parents of two beautiful 
children, Caelan and Dyllon. Sergeant Baum also loved the outdoors and 
flying helicopters. While it was difficult for Sergeant Baum to leave 
his family behind to serve his country, he carried out his duty like 
the true hero he was.
  The author Herman Wouk once wrote:

       Heroes are not supermen. They are good men, and embodied by 
     the cast of destiny, the virtue of a whole people in a great 
     hour . . . . If America is still the great beacon in dense 
     gloom, the promise to hundreds of millions of the oppressed 
     that liberty exists, that it is the shining future, that they 
     can throw off their tyrants, and learn freedom and cease 
     learning war, then we still need heroes to stand guard in the 
     night.

  As of today, Warrant Officer Stump, Sergeant Baum and more than 50 
Oregonians have lost their lives keeping the promise of liberty to 
millions, the promise our forefathers first made and the charge that is 
ours to keep. They stood guard in the night and have earned the 
gratitude of our Nation.

[[Page 22601]]




                  LIEUTENANT COMMANDER THOMAS E. BLAKE

  Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Navy 
Pilot LCDR Thomas E. Blake of Spencer, NE.
  Lieutenant Commander Blake was a selfless and honorable man whose 
commitment and service to his country were exemplary. As a 1990 
graduate of Spencer-Naper High School, Blake went on to earn a 
bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1994. 
Blake was an 11-year veteran of the Navy, and had been stationed at Sea 
Control Squadron 32, based at Jacksonville, Florida for the past 6 
months.
  On September 21, 2005, LCDR Thomas Blake died at the age of 33 when 
an S-3B Viking jet crashed near Jacksonville Naval Air Station, killing 
Blake and LCDR Scoot Bracher of Malverne, NY. Blake was the naval 
flight officer and mission commander on the flight.
  Lieutenant Commander Blake is survived by his wife Jessica, a native 
of Gretna, NE. Thomas and Jessica are the parents of a 2-year-old son, 
and Jessica is expecting their second child soon. I would like to offer 
my sincere condolences and prayers to the family and friends of 
Lieutenant Commander Blake. His noble service to the United States of 
America is to be respected and remembered by all. Every American and 
all Nebraskans should be proud of the service of brave military 
personnel such as LCDR Thomas E. Blake.

                          ____________________