[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 23438-23439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THREE FALLEN SOLDIERS SERVING IN IRAQ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 20, 2005

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to three 
fallen American soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving our 
country.
  On October 14, 2005, while conducting convoy operations in the Al 
Taji area in Iraq, three Maryland Army National Guardsmen, 20-year-old 
Specialist Samuel M. Boswell, 23-year-old Specialist Bernard L. Ceo, 
and 36-year-old Sergeant Brian R. Connor, were tragically killed when 
their Humvee was accidentally hit and caught fire.
  Assigned to the 243rd Engineer Company based in my district of West 
Baltimore, these remarkable young men had only been stationed in Iraq 
since mid-August. They were the first Maryland National Guardsman to be 
killed while serving their country overseas since World War II.

[[Page 23439]]

  Words cannot express the sense of loss felt by the Maryland community 
when not one, but three of our own is taken from us in an instant. I 
offer my deepest condolences to the Boswell, Ceo, and Connor families 
during their difficult time.
  Although each of these brave soldiers took different paths to arrive 
in the Army, they all shared great intellect, vigor, and a true 
commitment to serve their country. These attributes coupled with their 
youth makes it even more difficult to accept each soldier's fate. We 
all must now face the burden of uncertainty--never knowing what the 
future would have held for them.
  Specialist Samuel Boswell of Elkridge, graduated from the technology 
magnet program at River Hill High School in Clarksville, Md. in 2003. 
He was a computer whiz with aspirations of receiving his college 
degree. However, as the violence in Iraq escalated, Spc. Boswell was 
compelled to volunteer his service and join the Army shortly after his 
high school graduation. On the day of his death, Spc. Boswell was on 
his way to meet his brother Michael, who was a civilian contract worker 
based in Baghdad. That reunion never took place.
  Specialist Bernard Ceo of Baltimore was raised in a military family. 
His ambition was to become a teacher. In fact, before joining the Army, 
he worked one-on-one with special needs students at the Kennedy Krieger 
High School Career and Technology Center in Baltimore. One of his 
colleagues at the school said that Spc. Ceo was a thoughtful, 
introspective young man who was an excellent employee, and would have 
made an outstanding teacher. Spc. Ceo joined the Army to help pay for 
college and alleviate financial strain on his family.
  Along with his professional goals, Spc. Ceo was also making plans to 
marry his longtime girlfriend, Dajae Overton. The two had been together 
for years, and Spc. Ceo even took on the responsibility of caring for 
her two children as if they were his own. This selfless act 
demonstrated that Spc. Ceo was a man of integrity and honor.
  Sergeant Brian Conner of Gwynn Oak was a single father of three 
daughters. Before joining the Army, he worked as a fireman for the 
Baltimore City Fire Department for 12 years. His sense of humor and 
clever banter were admired by all who knew him. His older brother, Paul 
said he was good at everything he did and that joining the Army was 
Sergeant Conner's mission.
  These tragic deaths and these mourning families are a personal 
reality that we, as a people, must have the humanity to confront. These 
deaths remind us that sacrifice is never truly ``shared.''
  There is nothing that any of us can say that will return these brave 
young men to their families.
  We can only reach out to them--and to all who have lost loved ones in 
Iraq.
  We can only stand with these neighbors in their darkest hours--and 
offer whatever comfort and support that we can.
  As the families and loved ones of Samuel Boswell, Bernard Ceo and 
Brian Conner attempt to endure losses and suffering that no family 
should have to confront, we must all recommit ourselves to finding a 
way out of this conflict in Iraq.
  We must find a way to bring our troops home on a timetable that is 
consistent with our nation's commitments to the Iraqi people.
  By the end of this year, the Iraqis should have their constitution 
and government in operation.
  That is not the reason that we went to war--but, nevertheless, it 
would give some meaning to our soldiers' sacrifice.
  Equally important, the deaths that we mourn this week remind us that 
it is time for a clear and reasoned strategy to begin bringing our 
brave young people home.
  Then, perhaps, all of the families who have sacrificed so much 
because of the war in Iraq can begin to heal the wounds that they have 
been forced to endure.

                          ____________________