[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 5949-5950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO AIR FORCE TECHNICAL SERGEANT WALTER MOSS, JR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to a native 
Houstonian, Walter Moss, Jr., who voluntarily served our Nation in Iraq 
and who died doing so. He was assigned to the 366th Civil Engineer 
Squadron, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or the EOD, Flight as a 
noncommissioned officer in charge of the EOD Resources Element, 
Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.
  On March 29, 2006, Tech Sergeant Moss became the 200th Texas member 
of the Armed Forces killed in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, Texans are only 7 
percent of the United States population, but make up 10 percent of the 
volunteers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Further, almost 9 percent of the 
military deaths in Iraq are Texans.
  Additionally, Moss was the first airman from Sather Air Force Base in 
Iraq to be killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was 37 
years old. In his long military career, he specialized in the dangerous 
job of detection and removal of explosive devices.

                              {time}  1945

  He was killed while trying to defuse a makeshift bomb while 
conducting operations near Baghdad. The terrorists in Iraq use the 
improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, as a cowardly way of murdering 
Iraqi women, children, civilians and Americans. The terrorist use of 
IEDs is one of the most dangerous threats to our troops in uniform in 
Iraq.
  Technical Sergeant Moss was the first line of defense between IEDs 
and his fellow military comrades. Since being deployed to Iraq in 
January, Sergeant Moss had responded to more than 200 calls. Those 200 
calls meant that Moss had perhaps saved the life of an American or 
Iraqi civilian.
  Born in Houston, Texas, Moss attended Aldine High School. He joined 
the Air Force upon graduation from Aldine and soon married his high 
school sweetheart Georgina.
  From the beginning of his military career, Moss stood out as a 
leader. His motivation earned him a coveted spot assisting the United 
States Secret Service. During his 16-year military career, he guarded 
the likes of former President George H. Bush and the First Lady.
  While stationed in Guam, he disposed of 12,500 pounds of hazardous 
World War II munitions and supported the Secret Service again in 
protecting Hillary Clinton. In 1997, he and his family were stationed 
at the 31st CE Squadron, Aviano Air Force Base, Italy. He was 
handpicked from his unit to provide EOD support during the Middle East 
peace talks where he ensured then-Secretary of State Madeleine 
Albright's safety.
  Moss had two children, Andrew, 13, and Veronica, 9. A military 
traveling family, they had already lived with their father in Guam, 
Italy and Turkey.
  Technical Sergeant Moss was deployed in support of Operations 
Southern Watch, Allied Force, Desert Strike, Northern Watch and Iraqi 
Freedom. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force 
Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force 
Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster.
  Even though he was in the Air Force, the Navy and Marines honored him 
with the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and he will be 
awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart.
  I attended Technical Sergeant Moss' funeral in Spring, Texas, and I 
talked

[[Page 5950]]

to his father Walter Moss, Sr. Walter told me he was proud of his son, 
proud of the life he chose, and proud of the country he served. At the 
funeral there were a great number of Air Force personnel, strangers, 
citizens, family, and even a motorcycle group carrying large American 
flags.
  I would like to extend my prayers and condolences to his father 
Walter, his mother Rebecca York, his brother Brian, his relatives and 
friends in Idaho and Texas, his wife Georgina, and his children Andrew 
and Veronica. He died as he lived: Protecting Americans.
  Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the brave airmen such as 
Technical Sergeant Walter Moss. He sought out danger so others would 
not face danger. He was a father, a husband and a brother. His 
unyielding courage was an inspiration to his fellow airmen and his 
family. He was an American patriot, and he was a cut above the rest of 
us.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________