[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13432-13433]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                      Corporal Nicholas J. Dieruf

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 2 days ago, family and friends gathered 
at the Dieruf family farm near Lexington to celebrate a birthday and 
continue an annual tradition.
  If this year was similar to years past, they played games and shared 
stories around a bonfire. But unlike years past, one man was missing. 
That man is CPL Nicholas J. Dieruf, a U.S. marine.
  Corporal Dieruf was taken from us on April 8, 2004. It is his 
birthday that

[[Page 13433]]

brings so many people together, a tradition that started when he was in 
high school.
  Corporal Dieruf was mortally wounded in the Al Anbar Province of 
Iraq. As the gunner of a light armored vehicle, his vehicle was in the 
lead of a convey when terrorists attacked with rocket-propelled 
grenades and small arms. He was 21 years old.
  For his valorous service, Corporal Dieruf received numerous medals 
and awards, including the Purple Heart.
  As the youngest of four brothers--where the eldest and youngest are 
separated by only 4 years--Nich learned quickly how to get along with 
others.
  His mother Barbara sheltered him from the youthful pranks that his 
brothers, Charlie, Matthew, and Paul, tried to play on him, like when 
they almost convinced him to swallow an earthworm fresh from their 
mother's rose bed.
  But Charles Dieruf, their father, instilled confidence and self-
respect in his sons and reminded them that the only thing you will ever 
have in life is your brothers. By the time the boys reached grade 
school, they had developed a respect and admiration for one another 
that persists to this day.
  Nich became especially close to Matthew, the second oldest brother, 
with a spirit and a temperament much like Nich's. In high school, Matt 
and Nich would take what they called ``fun runs,'' jogging through the 
bluegrass countryside. Runs that started as training for the cross-
country team soon became what Matt calls ``a chance to get out and talk 
about stuff.'' Barbara says Nich always looked up to Matthew and valued 
his advice.
  After graduating from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, in his 
hometown of Lexington in 2000, Nich enrolled in classes at Lexington 
Community College that fall. That October, however, he joined the 
Marines.
  That decision was an important step in Nich's transformation, as his 
older brothers watched the youngest brother who looked to them for 
advice become the man they themselves would turn to for counsel.
  ``When Nich was in town, everyone would come around,'' says his 
brother, Matthew. ``People just gravitated to my brother.''
  Nich deployed to Iraq for the first time in early 2003 and quickly 
acclimated to the 14-hour workdays. His commanding officers noted his 
leadership qualities, and when his platoon commander had to break in a 
new staff sergeant, he assigned the sergeant to Corporal Dieruf's 
vehicle, to learn from the best.
  The trust Corporal Dieruf's commanders placed in him with this 
decision became clear when you realize that a staff sergeant is two 
full ranks above a corporal. Another marine who worked with Nich, SGT 
Joseph Leurs, had this to say:

       Corporal Dieruf was extremely tactful. If he saw me doing 
     something differently than how it was normally done, he would 
     suggest we get a drink, and only then would he propose that I 
     try it another way.

  Sergeant Leurs went on to say that Corporal Dieruf earned the respect 
of those he served with, and never soured on his duties to the Corps.
  Shortly before his first deployment, Nich gave a young woman named 
Emily Duncan a pearl ring--a promise ring, which he asked her to wear 
while he was away. Emily Duncan, who would become Emily Dieruf, wore 
his ring and sent him letters and care packages. When Nich returned 
from his first tour in July 2003, he asked Emily to replace that 
promise ring with a wedding band.
  The young couple exchanged vows in January of 2004, and on February 
18, shared their last embrace before Nich deployed for his second tour 
in Iraq. In a note Nich sent to Emily from Iraq, he described why he 
was honored to wear his country's uniform: ``If you could see what I 
see, and compare it to back home,'' he wrote, ``you would see why we 
are needed.''
  He was a loving, caring marine who believed deeply in what he was 
doing, his wife Emily says. Nich was especially proud of the work he 
and his fellow marines were doing for the Iraqi children.
  Nich, who had demonstrated his gift for taking things apart and 
putting them back together as a boy, planned to enroll in the 
University of Kentucky's engineering program when he returned.
  Then came that fateful day in April. Emily wrote Nich a letter and at 
the end of the day fell asleep. Shortly after midnight, she was 
awakened by a knock at the door. Looking outside to see a marine on her 
doorstep, her first thought was that Nich had come home to surprise 
her, as he had in the past. Tragically, she learned, instead, that her 
husband had died earlier that day.
  Corporal Dieruf was buried with full military honors at Lexington's 
Calvary Cemetery on Friday, April 16, 2004. Three years later, we 
continue to honor his life and his sacrifice, and I am very pleased 
that some of his family and friends have traveled to Washington to meet 
with me in the Capitol today.
  Nich's beloved family members include his wife Emily, his father 
Charles, his mother Barbara, his brother Charlie, his brother Matthew, 
his brother Paul, his sister-in-law Katie, his sister-in-law Court, his 
nephew Charles R. Dieruf, IV, his grandmother Fran, his mother-in-law 
Jennifer Duncan, his uncle Thomas Greer, his aunt Wilma Greer, his 
cousin Ashley Greer, and many others. I ask the Senate to keep them in 
your thoughts and prayers today. I know they will be in mine.
  No words we can say today will ease the pain of the Dieruf family or 
fill the hole Nich leaves behind. But I hope the reverence and respect 
this Senate shows Corporal Dieruf can remind them that he lived and 
served as a hero, and his country will forever honor and remember his 
sacrifice.
  Even after his passing, Nich continues to bring his family and 
friends together, as he has today, as he did 2 days ago at the Dieruf 
family farm. Perhaps his mother Barbara said it best when she said, 
``Nich was the glue that held those he loved together.''
  The bond Nich formed with those who love him is so strong it holds 
fast today, and it will bring his friends and family together again, in 
his memory, year after year.

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