[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16969-16970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                 Private First Class Timothy R. Vimoto

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise because a soldier from my home 
State of Kentucky has fallen. On June 5, 2007, PFC Timothy R. Vimoto 
was tragically killed while on patrol in the Korengal Valley in 
Afghanistan. Private First Class Vimoto, who called the town of Fort 
Campbell, KY, his home, was 19 years old.
  For bravery in service to his country, Private First Class Vimoto 
received several awards, medals, and decorations, including the Bronze 
Star Medal.
  Private First Class Vimoto's Kentucky story may be more circuitous 
than most; yet I am proud to stand here and say we both hail from the 
Bluegrass State. Born in Hawaii, Tim's father is CSM Isaia T. Vimoto. 
Being from a military family, Tim followed his father to Army postings 
as a child.
  This led Tim to Fort Campbell, KY, home to thousands of our brave 
soldiers and the 101st Airborne Division. Command Sergeant Major Vimoto 
was a senior advisor to the commander of the 101st. Tim attended Fort 
Campbell High School, where he made many friends and was part of the 
school's football team.
  ``Tim was known throughout the school as the kid with the biggest and 
best smile,'' says Shawn Berner, Tim's high school football coach. ``He 
was always smiling and willing to help anyone in the school. . . . He 
was a very caring and generous person that touched a lot of people's 
lives in a positive manner.''
  ``He's one of our babies,'' says Kesha Ladd, one of Tim's old 
teachers at Fort Campbell High. ``When you teach on post, it's like you 
help raise these children when their parents are deployed.''
  ``Tim was liked by everyone,'' Shawn Berner adds.
  After graduating high school in 2006, Tim chose to follow in his 
father's footsteps and enlist in the Army.
  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd 
Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based in Camp Ederle, Italy. In fact, he 
was at the same posting as his father at that time, and as Isaia Vimoto 
was the brigade's most senior enlisted soldier, Tim actually fell under 
his command.
  Fellow soldiers remembered the influence Tim's father had on him and 
how it shaped him into the model soldier he became.
  ``He saw the transformation from being a son to being a soldier,'' 
says SGT Andy Short. And ``no matter what Vimoto was doing, he had a 
smile on his face.''
  ``Throughout his childhood, [Tim] watched his father train, deploy, 
re-deploy and develop into one of the strongest leaders in the Army,'' 
says another fellow soldier, CPT Matthew Heimerle.
  Command Sergeant Major Vimoto himself, currently stationed in Italy, 
says his son was ``a very talented young man with lots of potential.''
  Tim's family and fellow soldiers held a memorial service for him in 
Italy, and hundreds of friends who wanted to say goodbye packed the 
chapel. We are thinking today of all those who mourn his loss.
  Our thoughts are with his parents, Isaia and Misimua Vimoto; his 
brothers, Isaia Jr. and Nephi; his sisters, Sabrina and Ariel; and many 
other loved ones.
  Mr. President, the Vimoto family's loss of their beloved son and 
brother--

[[Page 16970]]

while serving alongside the father who raised and inspired him, no 
less--cannot be measured. But neither can this U.S. Senate's immense 
pride and reverence for his service and his sacrifice.
  Our Nation honors him as a soldier and a patriot. And we thank the 
Vimoto family for giving their country such a hero.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                          ____________________