[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 21969-21970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                      Sergeant Kampha B. Sourivong

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I ask that the Senate join me in 
paying tribute to SGT Kampha Sourivong, who made the ultimate sacrifice 
while protecting freedom. Sergeant Sourivong, of Iowa City, IA, was 
assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th 
Infantry Division, Army National Guard, based

[[Page 21970]]

out of Iowa Falls, IA. He was mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom 
with the unit in September 2005 and arrived in Iraq in early May 2006. 
He died at the age of 20, on September 30, 2006, in Al Asad, Iraq, when 
his military vehicle encountered small arms fire.
  Sergeant Sourivong will be posthumously awarded the following awards 
and decorations for his heroic service: the Bronze Star, the Purple 
Heart, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Mobilization device, the 
Army Good Conduct Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on 
Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army 
Service Ribbon, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
  My thoughts and prayers have been with Sergeant Sourivong's parents, 
Patty and Maliphone Sourivong, his brother and sister, and all those 
other family and friends who are grieving the loss of this young man. 
The Sourivong family described Kampha as ``a very caring person'' who 
``had a lot of friends, loved his family, loved his brother and loved 
his sister'' and someone who ``would give the shirt off his back to 
someone in need.''
  I am grateful for the sacrifice that both Sergeant Sourivong and his 
family have made. Our Nation will forever be in their debt. While the 
tragic loss of this young American is deeply saddening, he will be 
remembered proudly as the hero that he was.

                          ____________________