[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9878]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                              memorial day

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, this week we are in a rush to finish 
our business so we can head home for the Memorial Day Recess.
  Memorial Day signals the beginning of summer, when children are out 
of school and families get to spend time together.
  It's a time for vacations and trips to the shore, and backyard 
barbecues.
  But most important of all, Memorial Day is also the time when we 
remember the brave soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for 
our country.
  This year there are almost a thousand more names on that list than 
last Memorial Day.
  In total 2,750 troops have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan: 
2,455 in Iraq and 295 in Afghanistan.
  Almost 18,000 more have been seriously wounded.
  I keep a gallery of the pictures of the fallen outside my office in 
the Hart building. More and more people come to visit it, and I 
encourage my colleagues, their staff and our constiuent guests to view 
it and honor the memories of these heroes.
  New Jersey families have lost 71 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Last year, near Memorial Day, I read the names of New Jersey's fallen 
troops into the Congressional Record, where they would be enshrined for 
all time.
  Fifteen more New Jerseyans have died since then. Today, with your 
indulgence, I would like to read their names and hometowns into the 
Record:

       SSG Jeremy A. Brown, whose mother lives in West Orange; SPC 
     Armer N. Burkart, Blairstown; PFC Ryan D. Christensen, whose 
     mother lives in Brick; LTC Terrence K. Crowe, member of the 
     U.S. Army Reserve in Lodi, NJ; SFC Michael Egan, his mother 
     resides in Pennsauken; SGT Clarence L. Floyd, his mother 
     resides in Newark; CPT James M. Gurbisz, Eatontown; SSG 
     Edward Karolasz, Kearny; SPC Gennaro Pellegrini, Jr., whose 
     father resides in Wildwood; CPT Charles D. Robinson, Haddon 
     Heights; LCpl Edward A. Schroeder, South Orange; SSG Stephen 
     J. Sutherland, West Deptford; 2LT Dennis W. Zilinski, Howell; 
     SSG Christian Longsworth, Newark; and SGT Matthew Fenton, 
     Little Ferry.

  On this Memorial Day, I hope every American will pause to give thanks 
for the brave soldiers who gave their lives for our country.

                          ____________________