[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                  Marine Lance Corporal Stephen Bixler

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today 
to honor the memory of Marine LCpl Stephen Bixler, of Suffield, CT, who 
was killed last week while serving our Nation in Iraq. He was 20 years 
old.
  Tragically, Corporal Bixler's life was cut short when an improvised 
explosive device detonated while he was on patrol in Iraq's Al Anbar 
province. He was on his third tour of duty with the Marine Corps, 
having served previous tours in Haiti and Iraq. His heroic service is 
remembered today by a grateful nation.
  Service and leadership. These are the traits that best defined 
Stephen Bixler--as a talented runner on his high school cross-country 
team and as senior patrol leader in Boy Scout Troop 260. He was awarded 
the rank of Eagle Scout after working hard to improve the Jesse F. 
Smith Memorial Forest. He decided early on in high school that he 
wanted to serve his country, and shortly after graduating in 2003 he 
joined the Marines.
  Stephen returned home during the holidays last year and took the time 
to speak to students at his former high school about his experiences 
overseas and his pride in serving his country. Friends remember him as 
an intelligent, dedicated young man who was truly patriotic and 
possessed a self-confidence and leadership ability beyond his years.
  All of us in Connecticut and across America owe a deep and solemn 
debt of gratitude to Stephen Bixler and to his family for his 
tremendous service to our country. On behalf of the United States, I 
offer my deepest condolences to Stephen's parents, Richard and Linda, 
his twin sister Sandra, and to everyone who knew and loved him.

                          ____________________