[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE MARINE CORP MARATHON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JEAN SCHMIDT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 1, 2007

  Mrs. SCHMIDT. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride I rise today to 
congratulate the 20,630 brave souls who finished the Marine Corp 
Marathon this past Sunday, October 28, and to thank all the Marines, 
and Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen that have sacrificed and continue to 
sacrifice for this Country.
  Anyone that participated in the Marine Corp Marathon as a runner or a 
spectator should be very aware of the inherent good in humanity. The 
entire course was filled with Marine volunteers handing out water, 
friends and family of those running, and countless well-wishers who 
just came to cheer the runners on, and pay respect to those that have 
given so much.
  There are 20,630 stories of why this marathon was important, and 
20,630 reasons why it was special. I would like to take a minute to 
share just a few of these compelling and heartwarming stories.
  I am told that 1st Lt. Travis Manion was excited to run the Marine 
Corp Marathon with his father, Colonel Thomas Manion, also an active 
duty Marine. Being active duty Marines they were accepted before 
general registration began. Unfortunately a sniper's bullet cut 
Travis's life short on April 29, 2007 in Al Anbar province. He was 
serving his second tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In his 
honor, his father ran with both their bib numbers, and nearly 100 
others ran the marathon as a part of ``Team Travis.'' All members of 
``Team Travis'' should be proud of their hard work to honor this hero 
whose life was tragically cut short.
  The United States Naval Academy Class of 1995 graduated a little over 
a decade ago just like generations of Sailors and Marines before them, 
ready to spread out over the world, and serve our country. This past 
weekend, nearly 100 members of that graduating class ran in the Marine 
Corp marathon to ``Run to Honor'' 6 members of their graduating class 
who have died in military operations from 1998 and 2007. Their fallen 
comrades, Marine Major Douglas Zembiec, Marine Major Megan McClung, 
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Erik Kristensen, Navy Lt. Richard Pugh, Navy Lt. Bruce 
Donald, and Navy Lt. j.g. Brendan Duffy, constitute the highest 
operations related loss of any Naval Academy class since the Vietnam 
War. Anyone present on Sunday saw their many classmates carrying the 
yellow signs that read ``Run to Honor,'' and carried the names of those 
heroes who have given so much.
  Steve Penrose and his wife Brenna Penrose ran the marathon to raise 
money for the Matt Maupin Foundation. Matt Maupin, a native of Clermont 
County, Ohio, has been missing in Iraq since April 2004, and the Matt 
Maupin Foundation gives scholarships in his honor. The Penroses run 
raised at least $1000 for the foundation. Madam Speaker, I pray for 
Matt's safe return every day, and we are all grateful for the 
sacrifices of Steve and Brenna.
  Finally, I would like to congratulate all the members of the Capitol 
Hill Running Club for their hard work meeting at the Capitol at 6 a.m. 
to train. I would like to congratulate the coaches, Major Ben Venning, 
Colonel Ray Celeste, Staff Sergeant Juan Carrasco, Sergeant Shane 
Cooley, Gunnery Sergeant Ramses Cypress, first time marathoners Natosha 
Prolago and Caitlin Short from Representative Pryce's office, and 
second time marathoner Chris Vieson who serves us all as a member of 
the Republican Whip's floor staff. Other members of the club who ran 
the marathon are: Bernadette Arellano, Mark Baker, Martin Bayr, 
Danielle Behler, Kern Briggs, Clay Brockman, Diane Cihota, Christine 
Clapp, Fletcher Cork, Kelly Anne Creazzo, Katrina Eagle, Jim Faucett, 
Kirtley Fisher, Liza Fornaciari, Jeremy Glauber, Molly Gray, Shane 
Hagerman, Robert Hartmans, Richard Hayden Jr., Mark Hayes, Hanz 
Heinrichs, Alicia Herrmann, Wallace Hsueh, Kelley Huemoeller, Timothy 
Joyce, Amy Judge, Katy Kale, Garrett Keeler, Andrew Kermick, Vanessa 
Kermick, Max Kidalov, Speros Koumparakis, Kevin Lawlor, Fitzhugh Lee, 
Christopher Lee, Angelical Martinez, Christopher Meyers, Mariah 
Moncecchi, Kenneth Monroe, Philip Moore, Iffat Nawaz, Alexander 
Newcome, Timothy O'Rourke, Katherine Pattillo, Jeff Pickett, Gary 
Pinkerton, Susan Pinkerton, Rebeccah Ramey, Helen Robbins, Charles 
Roman, Matthew Shaffer, Royce Shields, Joshua Shields, Glee Smith, Tom 
Stallings, Caroline Stephens, Jeff Stephens, Amy Sterling, Zachary 
Stone, Jade Stone, Andrew Tabler, Gerald Thomas, Steve Vahson, Jonathon 
Van Arsdell, Sheila Venning, Jacob Watts, Sandra Weiss, Lynn Williams, 
Daniel Wolf, and Justin Yee. Congratulations to you all.
  I also wanted to mention several other groups equally worthy of 
recognition who had many dedicated runners, running for great causes: 
The Scraper Fi Fund, The Fisher House Foundation, the Achilles Track 
Club, Hope for the Warriors, Operation Homefront, USO of North 
Carolina, the Temporary Assistance Program for Survivors (T.A.P.S.), 
and the many more that I failed to mention.

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