[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 27791-27792]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                  Staff Sergeant Eric Thomas Duckworth

  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam President, I want to take a moment to reflect on 
the life and service of SSG Eric Thomas Duckworth of the 759th Military 
Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, stationed at Fort 
Carson, CO. Sergeant Duckworth was killed when a bomb detonated near 
his vehicle as he was leading a convoy through Baghdad. He was 26 years 
old--a father, a son, a husband, and a proud soldier.
  Sergeant Duckworth grew up in Plano, TX, an active young man with 
dreams of serving his country. He played baseball and football in high 
school and, in the time not devoted to studies and athletics, devoted 
himself to the ROTC. It was clear from an early age that Eric was a 
leader among his peers; in ROTC he was quickly selected to a leadership 
role and to represent his high school at a national ROTC council.
  True to his dreams, Eric joined the Army just a few days after his 
1999 graduation from high school. After serving in the military, Eric 
aimed to find a career in law enforcement. From what his family says of 
him and from what I know from having worked with peace officers as 
Colorado's attorney general, he would have been a great fit in any 
police department. He was selfless, hard working, and friendly. He did 
his job with a smile and a laugh.
  He was also an experienced and steady military police officer who was 
deeply committed to helping bring peace and security to a war-torn 
country. He was the type of American soldier who GEN Douglas MacArthur 
regaled in a 1962 address to West Point soldiers for their selfless 
sacrifices and for their unflinching devotion to the protection of our 
Nation. ``Duty, honor, country,'' MacArthur told the young soldiers, 
``Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, 
what you can be, what you will be.''
  These three words have been the creed of generation after generation 
of American soldiers. They help us understand the courage and fortitude 
that allow men like Eric Duckworth to serve two tours of duty thousands 
of miles from his family, to live in constant peril, and to shoulder 
the responsibility for keeping his soldiers safe while securing a 
brighter future for Iraqi citizens.
  Duty, honor, country. ``The code which those words perpetuate,'' said 
General MacArthur, ``embraces the highest moral law and will stand the 
test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the things that 
are right and its restraints are from the things that are wrong. The 
soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act 
of religious training--sacrifice . . . However hard the incidents of 
war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his 
life for his country is the noblest development of mankind.''
  SSG Eric Thomas Duckworth thoroughly embodied this creed: he donned 
the soldier's uniform at his first opportunity, he led his men on the 
battlefield, and he both offered and gave his life in service to his 
country. His is a debt we cannot repay.
  To Sergeant Duckworth's wife Sonya, to his children Michael, Madison, 
and Kaylynn, to his brother Andrew, and to his parents Michael and Ila, 
I cannot imagine the pain that you must feel. I can only hope that in 
time your grief will be salved by the pride you must feel for his 
devotion to his country and his love for his family. Eric was a man of 
courage, dignity, and selflessness. As he lies in rest at Arlington 
National Cemetery, amid the thousands of crosses of America's fallen 
heroes, may you know that his sacrifice will never be forgotten, his 
legacy always honored.


                 Sergeant First Class Rocky H. Herrera

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I rise today to commemorate one of Utah's 
fallen sons, SFC Rocky H. Herrera of Salt Lake City, UT. Sergeant 
Herrera was a member of the 585th Pipeline Company, 864th Engineer 
Combat Battalion. On August 28, 2007, he lost his life through injuries 
received from the detonation of an improvised explosive device.
  Sergeant Herrera's last act was a measure full of the love and 
devotion he had for his fellow soldiers. Sergeant Herrera's battalion 
was building a bridge when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle carrying an 
explosive device headed toward them. I have been reliably informed that 
just prior to the explosion Sergeant Herrera placed his body between 
the vehicle and his men to protect the lives of his beloved soldiers.

[[Page 27792]]

  In addition to this act of bravery, Sergeant Herrera has always 
dedicated his life to the preservation of freedom. In 1986, Sergeant 
Herrera joined the Army Reserve and served as a crane operator. A 
decade later he proudly joined the full time force.
  In addition to the two tours he served in Iraq, he was also deployed 
to Bosnia, South Korea, and Honduras. In each assignment he excelled 
and was accordingly promoted to such vital assignments as a squad 
leader and a drill instructor.
  Recently, Sergeant Herrera's life was blessed by the birth of his 
granddaughter Kylie. The sergeant has left behind his wife Traci, as 
well as two daughters and two sons. One of Sergeant Herrera's sons, 
Matt, remembers his dad always spent as much time with the family as he 
could.
  I will pray for Sergeant Herrera's family and remember their 
sacrifice of their husband, father, and grandfather.


                      Specialist Jason N. Marchand

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I also rise today to pay tribute to one of 
Utah's fallen soldiers. SPC Jason N. Marchand was a member of the 2nd 
Cavalry Regiment and at the time of his death was deployed as part of a 
2-week field tour north of Baghdad.
  Specialist Marchand's told his family that he joined the Army to 
protect his family and friends. Before his deployment to Iraq, 
Specialist Marchand spent the previous year and a half in Germany, 
which his mother said he loved.
  Specialist Marchand was born on April 8, 1981, in Salt Lake City, UT, 
to his parents Debbie Parsons and William Marchand, M.D. Specialist 
Marchand had a special relationship with his family. His mother stated 
they were open enough to share anything with one another.
  Specialist Marchand leaves behind a wife and a 6-year-old daughter, 
Savannah. At the funeral of Specialist Marchand, Savannah said that she 
wanted to release some balloons for her father. She wanted them to fly 
up to heaven to be with him there.
  Specialist Marchand is a fine example of an honorable U.S. soldier. I 
am grateful for brave individuals like Specialist Marchand who give 
their life to create a brighter future for their family, friends, and 
Nation.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)


                        sergeant jason lantieri

 Mr. DODD. Madam President. I rise to fulfill again my most 
painful obligation as Senator: To mark the life of another young 
Connecticut man who died in our country's service. SGT Jason Lantieri 
was killed this month in Iraq.
  Sergeant Lantieri's life was, up to the last moment, a story of 
moving success. At the age of 11, he was a troubled child from a broken 
home, lost in the foster care system. But 2 caring foster parents 
helped to transform him: Jon and Kathy Miller, of Killingworth, who 
took Jason into their home and became a new mother and father to him. 
``We just decided to go and ask if he could become part of our 
family,'' Kathy Miller recalled. It wasn't long before Jason was 
succeeding in school, serving on the student council, and competing in 
three sports. In his obituary, the Hartford Courant called it ``a life 
redeemed.''
  Sergeant Lantieri went on to earn a business degree, but, like so 
many energetic young men before him, signed up with the Army for a 
chance at travel and adventure. By all accounts, he had his wish, from 
Alaska to Europe to Iraq with a transportation unit in the 25th 
Infantry Division. Still, with all those who choose to serve in this 
time of war, Sergeant Lantieri knew that wearing his country's uniform 
meant risking his life. A video posted on his Web page shows how he 
confronted danger with a sardonic sense of humor: Below footage of an 
explosion in the desert, his caption reads, ``Just another day at the 
office.''
  In a war zone, death can come in any daily routine. Its constant 
presence means that in war there is no routine and that is just another 
sacrifice soldiers make for our sake. Last week, a transportation 
accident crushed Jason between 2 vehicles. He was 25.
  The 2 strangers he came to call Mom and Dad have a last record of his 
voice--a call from Iraq on their answering machine. The message is 
still there, and I imagine it always will be. They also have the 
military photos that show Jason in his uniform and beret, with a firm, 
unsmiling face. ``I hardly recognize that person,'' said Kathy Miller. 
``That's just a little piece of Jason. It's not the whole picture of 
who he is.''
  She remembers his class-clowning, his toughness on the soccer field, 
and his mischieviousness playing with her grandchildren--qualities that 
aren't in the picture.
  The tragedy is that Sergeant Lantieri has lost his whole life; the 
class clown and the grown foster son are dead along with the soldier. 
We can only answer that tragedy with grief and with gratitude, pledging 
to remember his rich life in its entirety.

                          ____________________