[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 24907-24908]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              ARMY STAFF SERGEANT GREGORY RIVERA-SANTIAGO

  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker and colleagues, I rise today bearing 
the grief of our community at the loss of yet another of our sons in 
the Iraq war. Army Staff Sergeant Gregory Rivera-Santiago was 26 years 
old. He was killed when his vehicle overturned in Baghdad. An Honor 
Guard of the 82nd

[[Page 24908]]

Airborne Division escorted his body home this Monday. It was his third 
tour; he would have returned home in November.
  In the midst of our deep sadness, I also come to the well of this 
House with great pride in this young man. An excellent student while at 
the St. Croix Educational Complex, a courageous soldier, a devoted 
husband, son, father, and friend.
  Staff Sergeant Rivera-Santiago is the seventh soldier we have lost in 
Iraq from our small territory. It is a tragic reminder of a war gone 
wrong and gone on for far too long. It is time to begin the process of 
bringing our men and women home.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, we are eternally grateful for Gregory's 
life and service, and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, 
his mother Mrs. Carmen Santiago, his wife Brooke, and their children. 
God bless them, God bless Gregory, and God bless all who are serving in 
our Armed Forces.

                          ____________________