[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14412]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SERGEANT RYAN J. BAUM

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                        HON. THOMAS G. TANCREDO

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2007

  Mr. TANCREDO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fallen 
Marine from my district, Sergeant Ryan J. Baum of Aurora. Sergeant Baum 
was killed May 18th during a firefight in Karmah, Iraq.
  Sergeant Baum was killed in the line of duty a day before he was 
scheduled to return to Colorado--where he planned to rejoin his wife 
Amber for the birth of his first child who they planned to name Leia. 
He was just 27 years old.
  Sergeant Baum was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute 
Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team Airborne, 25th Infantry 
Division. He attended basic training in Oklahoma before heading to 
Combat Medical School in San Antonio, where he met his wife. He then 
went on to Fort Benning, Georgia where he graduated from Ranger school.
  Ryan grew up in Aurora, where he attended Smoky Hill High School and 
played on the lacrosse team.
  Amber--who was trained as an Army medic herself--told the Rocky 
Mountain News that Ryan was quite passionate about his role as an 
emergency care Sergeant; and I would ask that the text of that news 
article be included in the Record.
  Amber told the News, ``He loved the challenge. In combat medicine you 
have to decide a life-or-death situation in less than a second, never 
knowing the answer but having to figure it out.''
  Madam Speaker, my deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences go out 
to Ryan's wife Amber, his parents Richard and Dana, his brother Jason, 
and his sister, Mande. He will no doubt be missed and loved by all who 
knew and loved him.
  Sergeant Baum served his country bravely, fighting for freedom and 
democracy against the forces of tyranny and oppression. Americans 
should never forget his service or sacrifice, and the nation will 
forever owe a great debt of gratitude to Ryan and his family.

              [From the Rocky Mountain News, May 23, 2007]

                Soldier ``Would Have Been Best Father''


     Medic dies in Iraq, was set to fly home for birth of 1st child

                         (By Hector Gutierrez)

       When Amber Baum gives birth to her daughter, she'll also be 
     delivering the dream her husband didn't see come true.
       Sgt. Ryan J. Baum, 27, was scheduled to fly home from Iraq 
     on Saturday to be with his wife for the birth of their first 
     child, whom they decided to name Leia.
       ``He just flipped when he found out he was going to be a 
     father,'' Amber said Tuesday. ``From day one this man wanted 
     me to have his baby.''
       The paratrooper who was raised in Aurora never made it 
     home. He was killed Friday, one day before his scheduled 
     return. He died from wounds he suffered during a battle near 
     Kalsu, Iraq, the Department of Defense said.
       ``He would have been the best father that God could have 
     placed on this earth,'' said his wife, who is staying with 
     her parents in Gettysburg, Pa. ``His spirit is going to live 
     through his daughter.''
       Amber also finds comfort in knowing her husband saved lives 
     as an emergency care sergeant, or medic.
       ``You need to save a life in less than a second, and he 
     loved the challenge. In combat medicine you had to decide a 
     life-or-death situation in less than a second, never knowing 
     the answer but having to figure it out,'' said Amber, who 
     also was trained as an Army medic.
       Baum grew up in Aurora and attended Smoky Hill High School, 
     where he played on the lacrosse team. His wife described her 
     husband as the typical ``Colorado man.''
       ``I'd never met anybody from Colorado, and he was the 
     definition of a Colorado man,'' she said. ``He loved camping, 
     he loved climbing, he loved kayaking, boating and fishing.''
       Baum also had loved the military since he was a child.
       He was attending college when he was informed in 2003 that 
     he had been accepted into the Army.
       ``He thought it was the great thing to do, he just thought 
     it was the right thing to do to serve his country,'' Amber, 
     21, said.
       Baum went to basic training at Fort Sill, Okla., before 
     heading to Combat Medical School in San Antonio, Texas, where 
     he met Amber. The couple carried on a long-distance 
     relationship when Baum went to Fort Benning, Ga., where he 
     graduated from Ranger school with high marks.
       ``He was always an honor graduate, which was someone who 
     exceeds above everybody else,'' Amber said.
       ``He was extremely strong, very physically fit.''
       After graduating from Ranger school, Baum was accepted into 
     the Special Operations Combat Medic School at Fort Bragg, 
     N.C., considered the Army's elite medical training facility.
       ``You could compare it to Top Gun in flight school,'' his 
     wife said.
       He graduated from Special Operations Combat Medic School in 
     2005, the year he and Amber got married. The two were then 
     reassigned to Fort Richardson, Alaska, in June 2005.
       Baum was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute 
     Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th 
     Infantry Division.
       In 2006 he underwent extensive medical training and 
     preparation for his deployment to Iraq. Baum was selected to 
     be senior instructor of the Alaska branch of pre-Ranger 
     school.
       On Oct. 7, 2006, he left for Iraq.
       In addition to his wife, Baum is survived by his parents, 
     Richard and Dana; brother, Jason; and sister, Mande.
       The family has established the ``SGT Ryan John Baum 
     Memorial Fund'' through US Bank. All proceeds will go to help 
     Baum's wife and their daughter's college education.

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