[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5636-5637]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                       Staff Sergeant Shane Koele

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I speak in remembrance of an Iowan 
who has died in service to his country. A member of the 212th Military 
Police Company, SSG Shane Koele died on the 16th of March from injuries 
sustained when his military vehicle ran over a land mine the day before 
near Shindand, Afghanistan. He was 25 years old and is survived by a 
wife, Cheryl, a young daughter, Kiley, a mother, Mary Donnenwerth, a 
father, Keith Koele, and two sisters.

[[Page 5637]]

  Staff Sergeant Koele grew up in Hartley, IA, and graduated in 1998 
from Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School. He attended college at 
Northwestern College and Wayne State before joining the Army. After 
serving in Iraq for 6 months in 2003, Shane returned home to get 
married. He was sent to Afghanistan on March 13, 2005.
  SSG Shane Koele is remembered by family and friends as a true hero. 
President Ronald Reagan once said, ``Those who say that we're in a time 
when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look.'' Today, 
we don't have to look far. We have only to remember with pride SSG 
Shane Koele and all those who have died in courageous service to their 
country. As his family and friends grieve their loss, I can only offer 
my prayers and my gratitude.

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