[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 850-851]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                        Corporal Joshua M. Moore

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to speak about a young 
Kentuckian who was taken from this world entirely too soon. CPL Joshua 
M. Moore of Lewisburg, KY, was lost in Baghdad while serving our 
country. He was 20 years old.
  In the early morning hours of May 30, 2007, Corporal Moore was 
driving a humvee when an improvised explosive device set by terrorists 
went off. The force of a 55-gallon drum of homemade explosives 
overturned the humvee and tragically took Corporal Moore's life.
  For his valor in uniform, Corporal Moore received numerous medals and 
awards, including the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. His 
family saw him laid to rest in Lewisburg, in Logan County, KY, with 
full military honors, including a 21-gun salute and a flyover of 
military aircraft.
  Corporal Moore's funeral service was held at Lewisburg Elementary 
School, where Josh had attended years before and where he returned 
every time he came home on leave to speak to the young students about 
his life of service as a soldier.
  This remarkable young man, who did not live to see 21, believed it 
was important to describe the honor of fighting to defend one's country 
with the young children in his hometown.

[[Page 851]]

  ``He has set a good example for the young kids around here. A lot of 
kids looked up to Josh. He will be missed greatly,'' says his mother, 
Carolyn.
  Josh worried what to say about the reality of war to kids as young as 
7 years old. But his father, Seymore, encouraged him to talk about the 
dedication a soldier must have. He told him to describe the rigorous 
physical training, the strange new places he saw, and the new friends 
he made.
  After Josh would return to Iraq, the students he had met would write 
him letters to read the next time he came home. ``He sat and read 
these--every one of these before he went back,'' said Seymore.
  Surely to Carolyn and Seymore, it seems like just yesterday when Josh 
was a child himself. When he was 3 years old, Josh found his dad's old 
Cub Scout uniform and wore it all the time. He even insisted on wearing 
it in his preschool picture--against his mother's better judgment.
  After attending Lewisburg Elementary, Josh went on to Lewisburg 
Middle School and Logan County High School and was a consistently 
strong student. He played basketball at Lewisburg Middle, became a Babe 
Ruth baseball all-star, and made the Logan County High baseball team--
all despite the fact that, at 5 foot 6, his friends teasingly called 
him ``Little Moore.''
  As important as sports were to Josh, however, this young man learned 
early the importance of patience. When he was almost 16, Josh wanted to 
buy a new car. His parents offered to help pay up to $500. But Josh had 
his eye on a neighbor's car, a burgundy Pontiac Grand Am with a $1,500 
pricetag.
  Carolyn and Seymore told Josh he would have to come up with the rest 
of the money, so he quit high school sports and got a part-time job. 
Two weeks before his 16th birthday, Josh approached his parents and 
slapped $1,000 onto the coffee table. He said, ``Here is my part. Where 
is yours?'' That Grand Am was his by his 16th birthday.
  Josh graduated from Logan County High in 2005 and hoped one day to 
join the Kentucky State Police. But after working for a short time at a 
factory, one day Josh came home to his family and announced, ``I am the 
property of the U.S. Government.''
  ``They are going to shave your head,'' Josh's mother said.
  ``They have to leave an inch of hair,'' replied Josh.
  His parents were nervous for their son and suggested he try a 
different branch of the service. A relative in the Navy offered to 
help.
  But Josh was not interested. ``Josh wanted to be where the action 
was,'' says Seymore, and to him that meant serving as an infantryman in 
the U.S. Army. ``No matter what he did,'' Carolyn adds, ``he wanted to 
be the best.''
  Josh did his basic training at Fort Benning, GA, and graduated among 
the top 20 soldiers in his class. Of the many things he learned there, 
one was the ability to say when he had been wrong. And in a letter to 
his mom, Josh admitted, ``I am bald.''
  Corporal Moore was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 18th 
Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based out of Schweinfurt, 
Germany. In addition to Germany and Iraq, Corporal Moore saw service in 
Kuwait.
  While in the Middle East, a lieutenant asked Josh's commanding 
officer who his smartest and quickest soldier was, and the officer said 
Corporal Moore, thinking Josh would receive an award. Instead, the 
lieutenant made Josh a radio operator.
  At first Josh thought he had been demoted. But his old drill sergeant 
told him this was an honor, as communications were critical to the 
unit. After this pep talk, Josh assumed his new role with relish.
  The lieutenant who selected him later told Josh's family that when 
Josh was away on leave, it was hard on the unit because no one else 
could meet the high standard he set for the job.
  This wonderful Kentucky family is in my thoughts and prayers today as 
I recount Josh's story. He is loved and remembered by his mother, 
Carolyn Moore; his father, Jeff ``Seymore'' Moore; his brother, Richard 
Pierce; his sisters, Carrie Cantarelli and Ashley Moore; his 
grandparents, Jeanette Rose and David and Barbara Knight; his 
girlfriend, Amber Miles; and many other beloved friends and family 
members.
  Corporal Moore's funeral service was held at Lewisburg Elementary 
School, the only place in Logan County large enough to hold the 
hundreds--hundreds--who came to pay their final respects.
  Ronnie Forrest, Josh's pastor for many years, from Lewisburg's Mount 
Pleasant Baptist Church, expressed best how this young man inspired so 
many in his short time on this Earth.
  This is what he said: Josh ``didn't want to die, he didn't intend to 
die, but he was willing to lay down his life.'' Pastor Forrest said at 
the service: ``That's what a hero is.''
  No words that Mr. Forrest could say, I could say, or anyone could say 
will fill the void in the hearts of Josh's family and friends. But I 
hope the knowledge that those who knew Josh saw him for what he was--a 
hero--fills them with pride. And I am proud to recount his story for my 
fellow Senators.
  Today, this Senate expresses its deepest gratitude for CPL Joshua M. 
Moore's service. He laid down his life for his country, his loved ones, 
and his young pen pals from Lewisburg Elementary. We will forever honor 
that sacrifice.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I certainly join with my friend from 
Kentucky in the respect we show for this young man.

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