[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 9801-9802] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]IN HONOR OF ARMY SERGEANT ADAM PLUMONDORE AND ARMY SPECIALIST CLINTON GERTSON, BOTH OF WHOM WERE KILLED IN COMBAT DURING OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM- ______ HON. JACK KINGSTON of georgia in the house of representatives Monday, May 16, 2005 Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, SGT Adam Plumondore of Gresham, Oregon, was killed in action on 16 February 2005, and SPC Clinton Gertson of Houston Texas, was killed in action on 19 February 2005. Both men were snipers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Ft. Lewis, Washington. Lieutenant Colonel Michael E. Kurilla commands the 1-24 Infantry Regiment and he shares his comments made at the memorial service for these Great Americans. GEN Bergner, COL Brown, SGTs Major, friends of Deuce Four, and most importantly the men of Deuce Four. Thank you for coming today to honor two of the finest warriors that I have had the privilege and honor to serve beside. GEN William T. Sherman stated that War is Hell. My friends, he was right. It affects all those in its all consuming grasp. It affects us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually--it does not differentiate between civilian or soldier. No one wishes for war--to do so is sheer madness. GEN MacArthur said it best--The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. To the men of Deuce Four, we now honor our 7th warrior to die defending the freedom of a people we neither know nor completely understand. But such action is truly the nobility of our profession. We sacrifice all for a people that do not fully understand the extent of our sacrifice. A people that had never tasted the sweet waters of freedom until 30 Jan of this year. And it is because of your valiant actions, the valiant actions of heroes like SGT Adam Plumondore and SPC Clint Gertson. I would like to tell you about what kind of men they were as I remembered them--for these were extraordinary men that accomplished extraordinary things. Clint Gertson was the first man I met from Deuce Four three weeks before I took command of the Battalion. I was visiting Deuce Four in Feb 2004 conducting live fires at Yakima Training Center. I approached the support by fire position and this 6'4'' square jawed PFC stood up and greeted me with that big Texas smile and asked me if I wanted a clinic on how to shoot; he subsequently proceeded to hit a man sized target at 500m. I immediately knew that I would love this battalion and that if the rest of the soldiers were half as impressive as he was, I would have the best battalion in the Army. Gerty became a main stay of motivation for me. If one ever needed to know why it is a privilege and honor to command the sons and daughters of America they only needed to meet Clint Gertson. I remember 11 Nov like it was yesterday. What started as a raid to kill or capture an HVT turned into a 6 hour firefight with 60 insurgents, leaving 25 confirmed enemy dead and estimates of up to 40 killed. This was only because of men like Clint Gertson. We were taking significant small arms, RPG and mortar fire when we moved to the top of a building to get better fields of fire. As we arrived at the top of the building, I heard the distinctive bark of the .50 Cal sniper rifle from the corner and looked over to see Gerty in all his glory. Gerty and the sniper crew were killing RPG gunners as they moved between buildings in an attempt to reposition on Apache company. At one point he turned around and gave that big Texas smile and turned back to administering death to the enemy. I also remember one month later when Gerty missed a shot on an enemy mortar team only 300m from his hide site (I think it was closer to 250m)--I teased him that he needed more range time but he quickly reminded me that at least it scared the shit out of the enemy to drop the mortar tube and we did capture it. Good point Gerty. Clint Gertson was the kind of man that made you proud to say that you served with him. SGT Adam Plumondore was also such a man. An extraordinary leader that did extraordinary things. I had the privilege to observe the actions of SGT Plumondore on a daily basis--and stand back in awe and wonder. Plum was a walking uniform violation--but strangely, that is one of the things I loved about this man. I do not think a day would go by where I did not tell him to roll down his sleeves, buckle his chin strap, or trim up his Delta Force mustache. Sure enough, he would make the correction and in the thick of a fire fight there would be Plum with sleeves up, chin strap unbuckled, a big smile on his face and a weapon that never [[Page 9802]] missed--unless he was firing 40mm from his M203 which he often reminded me was an area weapon. I remember 3 Dec like it was yesterday. Sixty to seventy enemy had set up a 2km ambush along Route Tampa and the Recon platoon and TAC found itself running a 2km gauntlet of 15 IEDs, over 30 RPGs, hand grenades and significant machinegun and AK47 fire. Six soldiers were wounded including SPC Moore who was blown from the hatch of his Stryker that was now running on 8 flat tires--without missing a beat SGT Plumondore immediately jumped up and manned the MK19 and suppressed and killed enemy positions allowing the platoon to get casualties to the CSH and then launch a Battalion counter attack that killed 22 enemy. I remember 11 Dec like it was yesterday. As we were beginning to exfil from destroying a weapons cache a suicide car bomb slammed into the side of Hunter 1. The entire vehicle was in flames, 6 soldiers were wounded. The enemy then engaged with mortars, RPGs, and machinegun fire from 3 directions. Without even thinking twice, SGT Plumondore jumped from his vehicle with fire extinguishers in his hands and his weapon slung on his back. Without hesitation he began to put out the Stryker on fire and assist in the evacuation of the wounded from the Stryker. The fire out, Plum then turned his attention to the enemy and began to engage them with precision fires. Because of his actions, Plum saved soldiers lives and the Stryker did not burn to the ground--in fact his determined face was back in the gunner's hatch of his vehicle engaging an enemy RPG team that tried to ambush the platoon during exfil--complete with sleeves rolled up to the elbows. How do you honor such heroes as Clint Gertson and Adam Plumondore? You honor them by telling the stories of their friendship, camaraderie, and fierce bravery. You honor them by continuing to fight to protect the man on your left and right who would lay down his life so that others might live. You honor them by continuing in this noble endeavor providing freedom to a people we do not know or understand the sacrifices that are made--but that is what makes America the greatest nation on earth. We will miss them both terribly, but I know that our Deuce Four snipers, Gerty and Plum, are looking down from Heaven continuing to look out for us--that voice you hear in your head is Gerty calling the winds, Plum ensuring you have the correct distance, and both always reminding you to always look for the positive in life. On this day, we ask almighty God to grant us patience and steadfast resolve in all that is to come. May God Bless Deuce Four, 1st Brigade, and may God Bless America. ____________________