[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24381]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO SERGEANT NICHOLAS CARNES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay 
tribute to Sergeant Nicholas Carnes, a citizen soldier who believed in 
our Nation and acted on that belief to answer the Nation's call to 
serve.
  Nick Carnes was from Dayton, Kentucky. He lost his life on August 26, 
2007, in Orgun-e, Afghanistan. Sergeant Carnes served with Alpha 
Battery, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Regiment in the Army 
National Guard in Carrollton, Kentucky.
  Nick Carnes was a lifelong Kentuckian who grew up in Dayton and 
graduated from Dayton High School in 2000. Nick joined the Army 
National Guard at 17 and began working at BB Riverboats. Shortly before 
his deployment in October 2006, he became a riverboat captain and 
married his sweetheart, Terri Bernstein Carnes. Sergeant Carnes was due 
back in Kentucky this month to celebrate his first anniversary with his 
wife.
  I was at the sendoff for Alpha Battery in October of 2006. We saw the 
families. We saw the motivated soldiers who were ready to go and answer 
the call of service. I had the great honor and privilege to see Nick, 
to meet him and talk with him while I was there. And I was impressed 
with him. The one thing that this old soldier can say is I know a good 
noncommissioned officer, the backbone of our military, representing the 
character of our Nation, when I see one, and he clearly showed me that.
  A man or a woman is the product of many things. First, Nick's mom, 
Wray Jean, and dad, Gove, you gave the Nation a great young man. You 
gave our community a great young man. And that was reflected in a 
letter that he sent to Terri on November 11, 2006, a few weeks after 
the unit had activated. He wrote this:
  ``Dear Terri:
  ``Hello, beautiful. I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. 
Also, I hope you are coping well with my absence. You mean the world to 
me, my beautiful wife. I am so sorry that my decisions in life have 
forced me to be away from you. Unfortunately, I can't change those 
decisions. Even if I could, I believe that I would sacrifice time with 
you to be part of helping another country and defending our own. If the 
other soldiers who came before me did not stand up for freedom, then we 
would not have freedom. So I feel that I am obligated to stand up for 
freedom to ensure that everyone else after me has the same freedoms we 
do today.
  ``I am not going to Afghanistan to kill Afghans. I am going there to 
help them stand up to the Taliban and regain control of their country. 
As people, sometimes we need help. Afghans happen to need help. Yes, 
helping the Afghans may put me in harm's way, but I have been well 
trained and will continue to receive training for the rest my military 
career.
  ``Everything will be fine. I feel confident and will do everything 
within my power to bring myself home safely. You need not worry, baby 
doll. I will go and do the job that is asked of me and return myself to 
your arms. I love you. Nick.''
  The greatest value of our citizens serving is not simply their 
military proficiency, but the amazing character of a free people, 
embodied in the life of a young man like Nick Carnes, who understood 
the call that he was accepting and saw the higher good and the greater 
purpose.
  Tonight, Mr. Speaker, I ask that we honor Sergeant Carnes and his 
service to our great Nation. Sergeant Carnes was a brave soldier, 
dedicated husband, loving son, who was taken from us all too quickly 
fighting for a cause that he truly believed in. I honor his bravery. I 
honor his legacy. My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and 
family during this solemn time.
  Mr. Speaker, it is fitting to rise and honor this young man who laid 
down his life for the defense of our Nation on Constitution Day. As I 
stand here tonight, we talk about the Constitution as one of the great 
cornerstones of the form of government that we have as a free people. 
Yet, its preservation will not occur unless there are young men and 
women like Nick Carnes to come forward in every generation to answer 
that call, to be willing, as he said, to place himself in harm's way to 
preserve the ideals that he believed in.
  As we look tonight, I am reminded of the words of Jesus in John 
15:13, who declared, ``No one has greater love than this, that he lay 
down his life for his friends.''
  To you, Nick, I say thank you. Thank you for the example of your 
life. To his comrades in Alpha Battery who are here in this country now 
and also back in the theater, I say thank you for carrying on the 
mission. Thank you for honoring the flag, the highest ideals of service 
and what we represent as Americans.
  Four special people in his life also need to be thanked, because as 
much of our country does not know, serving in the military is a family 
business that only 1 percent of our population responds to.
  To Terri, I bear condolences for you, as I shared with you at the 
funeral home on behalf of a grateful Nation. Despite political 
differences that fly in the air, the backbone of our freedom is founded 
in sacrifices like your family has made, and I thank you for lending us 
Nick for a time. To Wray Jean and Gove, Nick's mom and dad, I say thank 
you for your son's service and for the example of his character. To his 
father-in-law Alan, thank you for your example and work. Raising a 
young leader who impacted our community, his duty and honor to country 
represent the best and greatest aspects of our national character. His 
sacrifice is not in vain.

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