[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2517-2518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
           HONORING AMERICA'S FALLEN IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, March 18 will mark the 3-year anniversary 
of America's involvement in Iraq. Two thousand two hundred ninety-six 
American military personnel have now given their lives fighting in 
Iraq. Two hundred seventy-seven Americans have also fallen in the line 
of duty in Afghanistan.
  We owe these great men and women and their families a debt of 
gratitude that can never be fully repaid.
  Last year I led a bipartisan group of 21 Members of Congress in 
reading the names of the fallen into the Congressional Record. We made 
a commitment to continue to read the names of our fellow citizens as 
long as the fighting continues.
  In the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, each of those heroes 
stands on

[[Page 2518]]

the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might 
live and grow and increase in its blessings.
  God bless and keep each of the brave Americans whose memory we honor 
today:
  1st Lieutenant Robert C. Oneto-Sikorski
  Private 1st Class David J. Martin
  Sergeant 1st Class Jonathan Tessar
  Petty Officer 2nd Class Allan M. Espiritu
  Sergeant Daniel A. Tsue
  Private 1st Class Tyler R. MacKenzie
  Specialist Benjamin A. Smith
  Specialist Joshua J. Munger
  2nd Lieutenant Mark J. Procopio
  Specialist Dennis J. Ferderer Jr.
  Captain Michael D. Martino
  Major Gerald M. Bloomfield II
  Major Jeffrey P. Toczylowski
  Specialist Darren D. Howe
  Sergeant 1st Class Daniel J. Pratt
  Staff Sergeant Kyle B. Wehrly
  Gunnery Sergeant Darrell W. Boatman
  Private 1st Class Dustin A. Yancey
  Captain James M. Gurbisz
  Specialist Timothy D. Brown
  Staff Sergeant Jason A. Fegler
  Lieutenant Colonel Thomas A. Wren
  Sergeant 1st Class James F. Hayes
  Captain Joel E. Cahill
  Lance Corporal Ryan J. Sorensen
  Private 1st Class Mario A. Reyes
  Specialist Robert C. Pope II
  Staff Sergeant Brian L. Freeman
  1st Lieutenant Justin S. Smith
  Sergeant 1st Class Alwyn C. ``Al'' Cashe
  Lance Corporal Jeremy P. Tamburello
  Lance Corporal Daniel Freeman Swaim
  Sergeant Joshua A. Terando
  Staff Sergeant Michael C. Parrott
  Sergeant Tyrone L. Chisholm
  Private 1st Class Antonio Mendez Sanchez
  Corporal Donald E. Fisher II
  Staff Sergeant Stephen J. Sutherland
  Lance Corporal David A. Mendez Ruiz
  Lance Corporal Scott A. Zubowski
  Corporal John M. Longoria
  Lance Corporal Christopher M. McCrackin
  Major Ramon J. Mendoza Jr.
  Lance Corporal Nickolas David Schiavoni
  Private 1st Class Travis J. Grigg
  Specialist Matthew J. Holley
  Staff Sergeant James E. Estep
  Private Dylan R. Paytas
  Sergeant Jeremy E. Murray
  Specialist Alexis Roman-Cruz
  Corporal Joshua J. Ware
  Corporal Jeffry A. Rogers
  Lance Corporal Roger W. Deeds
  Lance Corporal John A. ``JT'' Lucente
  2nd Lieutenant Donald R. McGlothin
  Specialist Vernon R. Widner
  Staff Sergeant Ivan Vargas Alarcon
  Sergeant Luis R. Reyes
  Private 1st Class Anthony Gaunky
  Private Christopher M. Alcozer
  Lance Corporal Tyler J. Troyer
  Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas
  Specialist Michael J. Idanan
  Specialist Dominic Joseph Hinton
  Corporal Jonathan F. Blair
  Staff Sergeant Edward Karolasz
  1st Lieutenant Dennis W. Zilinski
  Master Sergeant Anthony R. C. Yost
  Sergeant Dominic J. Sacco
  Private 1st Class John Wilson Dearing
  Sergeant Denis J. Gallardo
  Specialist Allen J. Knop
  Sergeant William B. Meeuwsen
  Staff Sergeant Aram J. Bass
  Private 1st Class Ryan D. Christensen.
  Mr. Speaker, President Abraham Lincoln once wrote to the mother of 
five fallen soldiers, ``I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the 
anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of 
the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have 
laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.''
  I would also like to thank the brave men and women who continue to 
serve our Nation in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world and 
serve with distinction.
  Our thoughts, prayers and gratitude are with you and your families at 
this time until they return home.

                          ____________________