[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5760-5761]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         IN MEMORY OF MARINE LANCE CORPORAL WESLEY JOEL CANNING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, ``I don't do it for the money, I don't do it 
for the glory. Providing for our future is my responsibility. I can't 
call in sick on Mondays when the weekend has been too strong. I just 
work straight through the holidays and sometimes all night long. You 
can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door. I am 
solid, I am steady, I am true down to the core.''
  This is taken from Toby Keith's ``American Soldier.'' And, Mr. 
Speaker, I rise today in honor of a young American Marine from a 
tranquil town in southeast Texas of approximately 34,000 people, Marine 
Lance Corporal Wesley Joel Canning, who died valiantly serving our 
country and our Nation in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Assault 
Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force 
based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
  Lance Corporal Canning, in just 21 short years, had already exhibited 
a lifetime of courage and boldness. He was killed in combat on November 
10, 2004, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, during the successful American 
offensive against the insurgent enemy in Fallujah.
  He was a native of Friendswood, Texas. Wes, as he was called by his 
friends and family, graduated from Friendswood High School in 2002 and 
left for boot camp in July, just 2 months after his graduation. 
Resolute about becoming a Marine since his junior year, he had 
approached his parents with the idea. His father, Joe Canning, recalls 
their hesitations: ``He decided he wanted to become a Marine,'' his 
father said. ``Spend 20 years in the service and pursue a career in the 
criminal justice system. I tried my best to talk him out of it, telling 
him to go and get a good education, but he was hooked on becoming a 
Marine. And after doing everything I asked him to do, talking to 
recruiters from the other branches of service and friends and relatives 
who had served, he seemed more convinced than ever that the Marines was 
absolutely the right thing for him to do.'' In the end, ``His mom and I 
gave him our blessing.''
  The devastating terrorist attack on September 11, which occurred 
before he ever graduated from high school, further fueled this desire. 
According to his mother, Jo Ellen Canning, ``9/11 didn't deter his 
efforts. He wanted all the more to go and protect his country.''
  He graduated from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. He 
steadfastly pursued a post that would allow him to see action. Open for 
deployment in Iraq, he stayed at Camp Pendleton in California rather 
than accept another assignment.
  In mid-March of 2003, with the commencement of Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, Lance Corporal Canning's wish came true. ``He went to the 
front lines at the beginning of the war. There was not much telephone 
contact, so we watched TV the whole time until he made it home,'' Mrs. 
Canning recounts. In a letter to his parents that month, he described 
going in with the initial push and penetrating Baghdad.
  He then returned to Texas after completing his first of ultimately 
two tours he volunteered for in Iraq. He excitedly did two things that, 
as his dad told me, ``they advise the boys not to do.'' He trekked out 
to Lone Star Ford, bought a new little black pickup truck, so he could 
show his band of Marine brothers back at the base in North Carolina his 
proudly displayed bumper sticker, ``Don't Mess With Texas.'' He also 
wedded his sweetheart from Fort Collins, Chayla.
  Married just 11 months, and only 11 months, he was once again 
deployed in September of 2004 to Iraq, where he was looking forward to 
participating in the training of Iraqi soldiers and police. Now he is a 
husband, a family man, and he decided to serve 4 years, go back to 
school, and build a life with his new bride, Chayla, who, in spite of 
the obvious strain, loved being a Marine wife. She said, ``Wes wanted 
to protect our family so our little brothers wouldn't have to. He was 
very protective of everybody.''
  Two months after being deployed to Iraq for a second tour, he left 
the following voice mail message for his father, who could not answer 
the phone because he was working on an offshore oil rig: ``Hey, Dad, 
it's me. I love you and miss you. We're still over here.''
  Two days later, Lance Corporal Canning was killed in action precisely 
on the 229th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, November 10, 
2004.
  Myrlene Kennedy, the principal of Wes's high school, recalls, ``He 
was kind to students and adults alike. He had a quick smile, a 
captivating personality, and that allowed him to have many friends.'' 
Wes's teachers said, ``He knew pretty much what he wanted to do. 
Following his ambition, he joined the United States Marine Corps after 
graduation in 2002. He began that journey he dreamed of and talked 
about with teachers and friends. He loved wearing his Marine Corps T-
shirt to class his senior year.''
  Wes's philosophy was written in his own high school yearbook: 
``Everything happens for a reason.'' For the Marine Corps Reserve Unit 
in Galveston, Texas, a unit like the one Lance Corporal Canning was a 
part of, his death constituted the first time it had to bring home one 
of its own flag-draped caskets, the flag that was presented to Chayla, 
in addition to the

[[Page 5761]]

Purple Heart Lance Corporal Canning was awarded. When asked by a 
reporter if she deemed her son a hero, Mrs. Canning swiftly replied, 
``He's always been a hero.''
  Today, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the United States Marine Corps 
alone has lost 49 Texans in combat-related casualties. While our 
military cannot replace individuals of exceptional character like Lance 
Corporal Canning, I believe his service will provide a sterling example 
for the men and women who carry forward his tenacious fight against 
terror, tyranny, and treachery.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, just this last week, April 1, which would have 
been Lance Corporal Canning's 22nd birthday, marked another momentous 
occasion, his best friend, Jason Powell, graduated from the United 
States Marine Corps Depot that had christened Lance Corporal Canning.
  Lance Corporal Canning, as LeAnn Womack said, achieved ``something, 
something worth leaving behind.'' He has touched other lives and 
inspired a fellow man to carry the torch and legacy of the Corps. 
Moreover, Lance Corporal Canning helped establish a democracy in Iraq, 
this historic start which I was privileged to observe on January 30 in 
a land far, far away.
  I believe if today we could hear from Lance Corporal Canning himself, 
as a member once and always of the United States Marines, as a member 
of the few and the proud, he would resonate the remainder of Toby 
Keith's American Soldier: ``And I will always do my duty no matter what 
the price. I have counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice. I don't 
want to die for you but if dying is asked of me, I will bear that cross 
with honor 'cause freedom don't come free. I am out here on the front 
line. Sleep in peace tonight. I am an American soldier, an American, an 
American Soldier.''
  So, Mr. Speaker, we extend our prayers, our condolences to his 
parents, relatives, fellow students at Friendswood High School in 
Texas, and his beloved wife. May this American hero's devotion to his 
country continue to kindle our dreams and ambitions as a free and 
independent people.
  So Semper Fi, Lance Corporal Canning. Semper Fi.

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