[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5556]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO MASTER SERGEANT MICHAEL T. HIESTER

  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, it is written, ``If you owe debts, pay debts; 
if honor, then honor; if respect, then respect.''
  I rise humbly today to pay a debt of honor and respect to Army 
National Guard Master Sergeant Mike Hiester of Bluffton, Indiana. As I 
saw firsthand last December at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, 
Hoosiers have made an extraordinary difference for freedom in Operation 
Enduring Freedom, and Master Sergeant Mike Hiester was a leader of men 
in that place.
  On March 26, 2005, Mike lost his life while fighting to defend 
America in Afghanistan. His military vehicle with the 76th Infantry 
Brigade Army National Guard, Indianapolis, struck a land mine 30 miles 
west of Kabul, Afghanistan, claiming his life and the lives of three 
other Indiana Army National Guard.
  At his home in Bluffton, Indiana, he was known as a loving husband 
and father, a member of the Bluffton Fire Department, and he will not 
soon be forgotten by this grieving community of Bluffton, which will 
say goodbye to him this week.
  I also offer my deepest condolences to his wife Dawn; his two 
children Emily and Adam; and his parents, Tom and Kay Hiester; as well 
as his sisters Megan and Michele, and all those across northeastern 
Indiana and all of our State who cherish the memory of this hero.
  Master Sergeant Michael Hiester is a hero whose service and sacrifice 
bolstered the hopes of millions of Americans and Afghanis, and the 
memory of his sacrifice and service will forever be emblazoned on the 
hearts of two grateful nations.

                          ____________________