[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3215-3218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


            California Casualties From Iraq and Afghanistan

  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, today I rise to pay tribute to 37 young 
Americans who have been killed in Iraq since November 17, 2006. This 
brings to 677 the number of soldiers who were either from California or 
based in California that have been killed while serving our country in 
Iraq. This represents 22 percent of all U.S. deaths in Iraq.
  SFC Tung M. Nguyen, 38, died on November 14, in Baghdad, Iraq, of 
injuries sustained from small arms fire. Sergeant First Class Nguyen 
was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, 
Fort Bragg, NC. He was from Tracy, CA.
  LCpl Jeromy D. West, 20, died November 25, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal West was assigned 
to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III 
Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, HI. He was from Aguanga, CA.
  Cpl Dustin J. Libby, 22, died December 6, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Corporal Libby was assigned to 
the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine 
Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
  SPC Micah S. Gifford, 27, died of injuries suffered when an 
improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on patrol 
during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 7. Specialist 
Gifford was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 
Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort 
Richardson, AK. He was from Redding, CA.
  MAJ Megan M. McClung, 34, died December 6, while supporting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Major McClung was assigned to I 
Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary 
Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
  SPC Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, died on December 10, in Baghdad, 
Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military 
vehicle. Specialist Steinbacher was assigned to B Company, 2nd 
Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX. 
He was from La Crescenta, CA.
  LCpl Clinton J. Miller, 23, died December 11, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Miller was 
assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group 
37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine 
Corps Air Station, Miramar, CA.
  Cpl Matthew V. Dillon, 25, died December 11, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Corporal Dillon was assigned to 
Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd 
Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air 
Station, Miramar, CA.
  LCpl Budd M. Cote, 21, died December 11, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Cote was assigned 
to Marine Wing Support Squadron 373, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd 
Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air 
Station, Miramar, CA.
  MSgt Brian P. McAnulty, 39, died December 11, when the CH-53 
helicopter he was riding in crashed just after takeoff in Al Anbar 
province, Iraq. Master Sergeant McAnulty was assigned to the 3rd 
Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine 
Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
  CPT Kevin M. Kryst, 27, died December 18, from wounds received while 
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Captain Kryst 
was assigned to Marine Light-Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine 
Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary 
Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
  LCpl Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, died December 16, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Palmer was 
assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I 
Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
  LCpl Luke C. Yepsen, 20, died December 14, due to injuries suffered 
from enemy action in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Yepsen was 
assigned to the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine 
Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
  Cpl Joshua D. Pickard, 20, died December 19, while conducting combat

[[Page 3216]]

operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Corporal Pickard was assigned to 
the 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine 
Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, NC. He was from Merced, CA.
  LCpl Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, died December 21, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Mayhan was 
assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine 
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA. He was 
from Hawthorne, CA.
  LCpl Ryan J. Burgess, 21, died December 21, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Burgess was 
assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine 
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
  Hospitalman Kyle A. Nolen, 21, died December 21, in Al Anbar 
Province, Iraq, as a result of enemy action. Hospitalman Nolen was 
assigned to H Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Regimental 
Combat Team 7, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward, Twentynine Palms, 
CA.
  LCpl Fernando S. Tamayo, 19, died December 21, while conducting 
combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Tamayo was 
assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine 
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA. He was 
from Fontana, CA.
  SPC Elias Elias, 27, died December 23, in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds 
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle 
while on patrol. Specialist Elias was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 
61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, 
Fort Carson, CO. He was from Glendora, CA.
  SPC Michael J. Crutchfield, 21, died December 23, in Balad, Iraq, of 
a non-combat related injury. Specialist Crutchfield was assigned to the 
3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bragg, NC. He 
was from Stockton, CA.
  SGT Lawrance J. Carter, 25, died December 29, in Baghdad, Iraq, of 
wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his 
vehicle during combat operations. Sergeant Carter was assigned to the 
1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st 
Armored Division, Schweinfurt, Germany. He was from Rancho Cucamonga, 
CA.
  SPC Luis G. Ayala, 21, died December 28, in Taji, Iraq, of wounds 
suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit 
while on combat patrol. Specialist Ayala was assigned to the 2nd 
Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry 
Division, Fort Hood, TX. He was from South Gate, CA.
  Sgt Aron C. Blum, 22, died December 28, at the Naval Medical Center 
in San Diego, California, of a nonhostile cause after being evacuated 
from Al Anbar province, Iraq, on December 8. Sergeant Blum was assigned 
to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Aircraft Group 
11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine 
Corps Air Station, Miramar, CA.
  PFC Ming Sun, 20, died January 9, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of wounds 
suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small 
arms fire during combat patrol operations. Private First Class Sun was 
assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade 
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. He was from 
Cathedral City, CA.
  2LT Mark J. Daily, 23, died on January 15, in Mosul, Iraq, when an 
improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. 
Lieutenant Daily was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry 
Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, TX. He was from Irvine, CA.
  CAPT Brian S. Freeman, 31, died January 20, in Karbala, Iraq, of 
wounds suffered when his meeting area came under attack by mortar and 
small arms fire. Captain Freeman was assigned to the 412th Civil 
Affairs Battalion, Whitehall, OH. He was from Temecula, CA.
  SPC Jeffrey D. Bisson, 22, died January 20, in Karma, Iraq, of wounds 
sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his 
Humvee. Specialist Bisson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th 
Infantry, Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, 
Fort Richardson, AK. He was from Vista, CA.
  LCpl Andrew G. Matus, 19, died January 21, from wounds received while 
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal 
Matus was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine 
Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable, I 
Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
  LCpl Emilian D. Sanchez, 20, died January 21, from wounds received 
while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance 
Corporal Sanchez was assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 
4th Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations 
Capable, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
  SSG Jamie D. Wilson, 34, died January 22, in Fallujah, Iraq, from 
wounds suffered while conducting security operations in Karmah, Iraq. 
Staff Sergeant Wilson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry 
Regiment, Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, 
Fort Richardson, AK. He was from San Diego, CA.
  PFC Michael C. Balsley, 23, died on January 25, in Baghdad, Iraq, 
when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military 
vehicle. Private First Class Balsley was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 
61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO. He was 
from Hayward, CA.
  LCpl Anthony C. Melia, 20, died January 27, while conducting combat 
operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal Melia was 
assigned to Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable, I Marine 
Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA. He was from Thousand Oaks, CA.
  SPC Carla J. Stewart, 37, died January 28, in Tallil, Iraq, of 
injuries suffered when her convoy vehicle rolled over. Specialist 
Stewart was assigned to the 250th Transportation Company, El Monte, CA. 
She was from Sun Valley, CA.
  CWO 3 Cornell C. Chao, 36, died on January 28, in Najaf, Iraq, of 
injuries sustained when his helicopter crashed. Chief Warrant Officer 
Three Chao was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 
1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX. He was from Orange, CA.
  PFC David T. Toomalatai, 19, died on January 27, in Taji, Iraq, when 
an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle. 
Private First Class Toomalatai was assigned to Headquarters and 
Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry 
Division, Fort Hood, TX. He was from Long Beach, CA.
  LCpl Adam Q. Emul, 19, died January 29, from wounds received while 
conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Lance Corporal 
Emul was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine 
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, CA.
  SGT William M. Sigua, 21, died on January 31, in Bayji, Iraq, when 
his dismounted patrol received small arms fire. Sergeant Sigua was 
assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry 
Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. He was from Los 
Altos, CA.
  I would also like to pay tribute to the soldier from California who 
has died while serving our country in Operation Enduring Freedom since 
November 17.
  SPC Jeffrey G. Roberson, 22, died on November 28 in Logar, 
Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive 
device detonated near his patrol. Specialist Roberson was assigned to 
the 230th Military Police Company, Kaiserslautern, Germany. He was from 
Phelan, CA.


                            iraq escalation

  When General William Sherman said ``war is hell,'' he certainly knew 
what he was talking about. After nearly 4 years in Iraq, I know of no 
one today who would argue with that statement.

[[Page 3217]]

As Members of Congress, we have an awesome responsibility to decide 
whether to send America's sons and daughters into war. I voted against 
the resolution authorizing the President to go to war in Iraq because I 
didn't believe we should have been rushing to say to the President: Go 
it alone, you have a blank check.
  This is what I said at the time, October 10, 2002, which is just 
before this Senate voted to give the President authority to go to war:

       I never have seen a situation where the President of the 
     United States asked for the ability to go to war alone and 
     yet has not told the American people what that would mean. 
     How many troops would be involved? How many casualties would 
     there be? Would the U.S. have to foot the entire cost of 
     using force against Iraq? If not, which nations are ready to 
     provide financial support? Troop support? What will the cost 
     be to rebuild Iraq? How long would our troops have to stay 
     there? What if our troops become a target for terrorists?

  Obviously, I didn't know the answers to those questions that weighed 
on my heart that day, but today I know that there are more than 138,000 
troops serving in Iraq, with a big escalation to come, an escalation 
that the Republicans would not allow us to vote on. I know that 3,098 
soldiers have been killed and more than 23,000 have been wounded. I 
know we have spent $379 billion and that doesn't include the 
President's latest request. And I know, as we all do, that our troops 
are targets for terrorism and that 61 percent of Iraqis think it is OK 
to shoot an American soldier. How can this President send more of our 
troops into a country he says he is trying to help when 61 percent of 
the Iraqi people say it is OK to shoot and kill an American soldier, 
and 71 percent of Iraqis want us out of Iraq within a year? We now have 
answers to the questions I raised that bleak day--terrible answers. Yet 
my Republican colleagues wouldn't allow us to vote on a resolution 
opposing an escalation of this war, an escalation of over 40,000 
troops, when you consider the support troops.
  We know that a majority of Senators oppose this escalation. We know 
the majority of the American people oppose this escalation. Yet we 
can't vote on it. Many of us have gone further. We have proposed 
resolutions and bills to start redeploying our troops out of Iraq. We 
have called on the Iraqis--a majority of us last year--to shoulder the 
burden of defending their own country.
  It seems like yesterday when we passed the 1,000 dead mark and then 
1,500 dead mark and then the 2,000 dead mark and then the 2,500 dead 
mark. Now it is more than 3,000 dead. I remember when we hit the 2,500 
dead mark last June. A reporter at the White House press briefing asked 
Mr. Bush's press secretary, Tony Snow, if the President had any 
reaction. Mr. Snow said: ``It's a number, and every time there's one of 
those 500 benchmarks, people want something.''
  What does that even mean? He calls 500 American dead benchmarks? That 
was a low point even for this administration that keeps on saying, if 
you don't support the war, you don't support the troops. That is 
hogwash. How do you support the troops when you send them into the 
middle of a civil war where they don't even know who is shooting at 
them? How do you support the troops? Three thousand ninety-eight 
soldiers dead is not just a number; those are people. That is 3,098 
families who are forever changed. To put more of them in harm's way, to 
escalate our involvement does not say to me we love them. It says to me 
we have not thought this through. We are not listening or this 
administration is not listening to the Iraq Study Group. It is not 
listening to the military generals who came before us to say this is 
wrong. It is not listening to the American people.
  Again and again this White House closes its eyes on the reality of 
this war. I know they don't want to see the tragic truth. But if you 
are going to make a decision to send our soldiers to war, you better be 
able to look at the consequences of that decision. They would not even 
let us vote on this escalation. The White House doesn't want that vote. 
They don't want to be second-guessed. They don't want to be 
embarrassed. They don't want to hear what this Democratic Congress has 
to say. And guess what. Elections have consequences--how many times has 
the President told us that--and this election had consequences. It 
means we have to take off the rose-colored glasses.
  Let's look at the events of Sunday, January 28, in Iraq, as told by 
two Los Angeles Times reporters, Louise Rough and Borzou Daragahi. That 
Sunday in America happened to be my wedding anniversary, a day of rest 
for many, a day of relaxation, a day for religion, a day for football, 
a day for basketball, a day for movies, a day for fun, a day for 
family; in Iraq, a day of hell.
  The headline of the LA Times, the following Monday, reads: ``Hundreds 
Die in Clash near Iraq Holy City.'' Here is the article. I don't know 
if this can be seen on the television, but it is a beautiful young 
girl, an Iraqi teenage girl. It could be your daughter; it could be 
mine. She is leaving school. She is stepping down steps that are 
bloodied by the blood of her schoolmates. She is barely looking around, 
and no one is helping her. This is a sight that is too often the 
reality in Iraq. The child has seen what no child should ever see, what 
we would do anything in the world to stop our children from seeing. And 
she appears numb.
  The reporters write about fighting erupting near holy city of Najaf 
on the Shiite holiday of Ashura. There were conflicting reports as to 
whether the fighters causing the trouble were Shiite or Sunni militia, 
but we know that our soldiers, working with Iraqis, killed several 
hundred gunmen in a fierce fight and a helicopter went down, our 
helicopter, and we lost our people.
  The reporters point out that our forces are fighting ``a complex 
patchwork of elusive enemies,'' and the deaths outside of Najaf would 
constitute the highest daily casualty toll inflicted by U.S. and Iraqi 
forces since U.S. troops arrived in Baghdad shortly after the March 
2003 invasion.
  This group we wound up fighting, because the Iraqi soldiers couldn't 
handle it and they called us in, call themselves Heaven's Army, a 
messianic cult who believes in the imminent return of Imam Mahdi, the 
last in the line of Shiite saints who disappeared more than 1,000 years 
ago.
  Nomas, who is a spokesperson for the Iraqis, went on to lament to the 
reporters that many Shiites believe the end days are coming, due to all 
of the violence. This is what he said:

       There's nothing bizarre in Iraq anymore. We've seen the 
     most incredible things.

  People think the end is near, and that is what this President is 
sending more troops into.
  Our troops have seen things we can hardly imagine, things that may 
haunt them throughout their lives. I have worked hard with my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to try and fashion some 
legislation so we have a commission that is set up to look at the 
mental health problems of our soldiers. They are deep, the signature 
wounds of this war, brain damage and posttraumatic stress.
  In other parts of Iraq that Sunday, in addition to that school I 
showed and in addition to the fight with Heaven's Army, the messianic 
cult, we lost two U.S. soldiers and a marine. In Kirkuk, violence 
raged. In Babil Province, mortar rounds killed 10, and 5 bodies were 
found in the Tigris River. There was an assassination in Kut, a deadly 
car bombing in Fallujah. In western Baghdad, explosives hidden in a 
wooden cart killed 4 and injured 18, and an Industry Ministry advisor 
and his daughter were shot to death.
  On the east side of the Tigris, a bomb exploded on a bus, killing 
one. Two other bombs exploded, killing seven. A bank clerk was killed 
by gunmen in a car near her home. This was all in this one article. 
This is one day, January 28, one day. Fifty-four bodies were found, 
including a woman kidnapped 2 days prior.
  And finally, in Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, 1,500 
policemen, Iraqis, were charged with absenteeism and fleeing fighting. 
And this is what the President is sending more of our American soldiers 
into, and they

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wouldn't let us vote on it here. It is absolutely outrageous. It is 
immoral that we cannot vote on whether we agree with this escalation. 
Our soldiers gave the Iraqis their freedom, their Government, a 
sovereign nation, and now it is the Iraqis' turn to decide their 
future.
  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who knew a thing or two 
about being at war said:

       In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be 
     achieved.

  The Iraqis must achieve it. We cannot want it for them more than they 
are willing to fight for it themselves. All we are doing by sending 
more troops to Iraq is feeding an already out-of-control dependence. So 
I believe we must not only speak out against the escalation, but we 
should do everything in our power to stop it. We need to convene an 
international conference, as the Iraq Study Group called for. We need 
to call for a cease-fire. I haven't heard the word out of the Malaki's 
lips, ``cease-fire.'' It is his country. His people are killing each 
other. ``Cease-fire'' would be a term of art to give people hope that 
there can be peace. At this international conference, we can look at 
the long-term solutions. Right now our troops have mission impossible, 
acting as a police force in the middle of what is, by most accounts, a 
civil war.
  Nowhere in the resolution this Senate voted on authorizing force is 
it stated our soldiers' mission is being in the middle of a shooting 
civil war. We ought to ask this President to come back with a new 
authorization, if that is what he wants to do.
  Senator Warner has said that in the past. He said:

       I think we have to examine very carefully what Congress 
     authorized the president to do in the context of a situation, 
     if we're faced with all-out civil war.

  Well, that time has come. This President should, A, send a signal 
that he wants to see us vote on this escalation of his and, B, be 
willing to come back with a new authorization that says clearly that it 
is fine for our troops to be in the middle of a civil war. Enough is 
enough.
  Enough is enough. We have to end the paralysis of ``stay the 
course.'' This is a time of great challenge for the U.S. Congress. I 
have been very proud these past few weeks to see my colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle begin to speak out forcefully against this. For me, 
it is easy to oppose the President on this war because, as I said, I 
voted against it, as did the occupant of the chair at that time. We 
didn't have our questions answered. I understand it is harder for 
others. But I believe everybody--at least a majority of the Senate--
wants to vote on this escalation. They want to be heard on behalf of 
their constituents.
  So it is times like these that I recall the words of one of my 
heroes, the great Martin Luther King, who said:

       The ultimate measure of a man [and I suspect he meant 
     woman, also] is not where they stand in the moments of 
     comfort, but where they stand at times of challenge and 
     controversy.

  He also said:

       Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about 
     things that matter.

  Well, this escalation matters. We ought to be heard on it.
  I commend my leader, Senator Reid, for holding firm on this issue. 
There ought to be an up-or-down vote on this escalation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.

                          ____________________