[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 19983]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING SERGEANT LEIGH ANN HESTER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask the entire Senate to join me 
today in congratulating one of Kentucky's amazing young heroes. SGT 
Leigh Ann Hester of Bowling Green, KY, is traveling to the Nation's 
Capital to receive the USO's Service Member of the Year Award at the 
organization's 2006 USO World Gala this September 28.
  Sergeant Hester is being honored for her valorous service in combat 
in Iraq, which earned her the Silver Star medal. The Silver Star is the 
Army's third-highest award for gallantry, and Sergeant Hester is the 
first female soldier to win the medal for valor in combat since World 
War II.
  A retail store manager in Bowling Green, Sergeant Hester joined the 
U.S. Army in 2001 and was assigned to the Kentucky National Guard's 
617th Military Police Company, based in Richmond, KY. In March 2005, 
she was on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad, shadowing a convoy of 
tractor-trailers carrying supplies for American forces.
  The convoy was ambushed by about 50 heavily armed terrorists. They 
attacked from a trench alongside the road and rained down machine-gun 
fire and rocket-propelled grenades on the convoy for a sustained 3 
minutes. Several truck drivers were killed, more were wounded. Thinking 
they had the upper hand, the terrorists moved towards the convoy, 
preparing to take hostages.
  Suddenly three armored humvees roared up to the carnage. Sergeant 
Hester, as team leader of the second humvee, maneuvered her team into a 
position to draw the enemy's fire and begin fighting back with grenades 
and M203 rounds.
  Sergeant Hester and her squad leader got out of their humvees and 
rushed the trench about 20 meters away from them to clear out the 
enemy. They worked their way through the insurgents, throwing grenades 
and firing M4s. When she ran low on ammunition, she ran back to a 
humvee to reload, exposing herself to enemy fire from multiple 
directions. Because this squad had been so well disciplined, Sergeant 
Hester was able to reach blindly into any of the humvees and know 
exactly where to grab more ammunition.
  Finally, the soldiers of the 617th had put down enough fire that the 
enemy fell silent. It turns out that Sergeant Hester and her team, just 
10 in all, had not only put themselves in the middle of a firefight 
against greater numbers and all survived, they had scored the highest 
death toll of insurgents in Iraq in many months. They killed 27, 
captured several wounded, seized a sizable weapons cache, and secured 
valuable intelligence.
  Sergeant Hester's actions were cited as having ``saved the lives of 
numerous convoy members.'' For her bravery, she was awarded the Silver 
Star medal on June 16, 2006.
  Sergeant Hester's courage, dedication, and sacrifice on behalf of her 
country and her fellow soldiers make her a hero and a role model that 
every young Kentuckian can emulate. I am proud that a woman of such 
character and determination hails from the Bluegrass State, and I know 
the entire Senate joins me in thanking her for her service in defense 
of America and America's ideals.

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