[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17961]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                     Staff Sergeant Kenneth Jenkins

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today in tribute to a brave young 
man from my home State of Arkansas. SSG Kenneth Jenkins was a loving 
son, a devoted husband, and a loyal friend. He was also an American 
hero, who fulfilled his lifelong ambition of honorably and courageously 
serving our nation in uniform. In doing so, he was to make the ultimate 
sacrifice in the name of freedom.
  Those who knew him best tell of a special young man who always placed 
his friends and family above all else. Always dependable, he was the 
type of person who would give you the shirt off of his back if needed. 
It was this generosity and goodwill that endeared him to others. They 
were also the traits that allowed him to form new bonds quickly with 
everyone he met and with everyone he served.
  On July 1, 1999, Staff Sergeant Jenkins fulfilled his aspiration to 
serve our Nation in uniform by enlisting in the U.S. Army. Soon after 
completing his training, he was deployed for various missions around 
the world, which took him to such countries as Bosnia, Kosovo, 
Macedonia, and Cuba. Throughout his service, he was a soldier's 
soldier, grateful to serve and proud of his role in helping to defend 
the people and the country that he loved. It came as no surprise that 
Staff Sergeant Jenkins answered his Nation's call for duty in Operation 
Iraqi Freedom, completing a full tour of duty and returning for a 
second.
  In Iraq, he served with the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment of the 
4th Infantry Division. Tragically, while conducting operations in 
Baghdad on August 12, his humvee came under attack by enemy forces and 
sustained small arms fire. He later died from injuries sustained in 
that battle. He was scheduled to return home in November.
  Staff Sergeant Jenkins was laid to rest with full military honors in 
Killeen, TX. Posthumously, he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple 
Heart for his courageous service. A few miles away, his fellow soldiers 
held a separate memorial ceremony at Fort Hood in honor of Jenkins and 
the five other 4th Infantry Division soldiers who were killed in Iraq 
during the month of July.
  It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the loss of yet another brave 
soldier from Arkansas. While Kenneth Jenkins may no longer be with us, 
I pray that we may find some sense of solace knowing that his spirit 
will live on forever in the hearts of those whose lives he touched. The 
way he lived his life is truly an example for us all. My thoughts and 
prayers are with his wife Brandy Jenkins, his sister Stephanie Richard, 
his brother Mack Jenkins, his parents, and with all those who knew and 
loved this special young man.

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