[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21656-21657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to three of 
Oklahoma's finest heroes.
  SGT Daniel Eshbaugh, of Norman, OK.
  CWO Brady Rudolf, of Oklahoma City, OK.
  And CPL Michael Thompson, of Harrah, OK.
  They were among the soldiers who were killed on September 17, 2008 in 
Tallil, Iraq, when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed while en 
route from Kuwait to Balad Air Base north of Baghdad.
  SGT Eshbaugh, CWO Rudolf and CPL Thompson were members of Detachment 
1, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation, from Lexington, OK.
  The unit, which is made up of approximately 200 Texas and Oklahoma 
Guard members, was mobilized in June and left for duty in Iraq in late 
August.
  All three were on their second tour in Iraq.


                          SGT DANIEL ESHBAUGH

  SGT Dan Eshbaugh served as a flight engineer in the 149th.
  He enlisted in the Air Force in 1982 and served for 10 years.
  Dan joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard in 1998 and served until 
2000.
  In 2002, he reenlisted in the Oklahoma Army National Guard and was 
mobilized in 2008.
  Dan's first deployment was in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, spending 4 months in theater.
  Dan leaves behind his wife Rachel and their two sons, Bryan and 
Jordan.
  He is also survived by his two daughters, Jessica and Ashley, and his 
mother, Bernadine.
  Yesterday I talked with Dan's wife Rachel and she talked about Dan's 
love for the Army, that it was his ``whole life''.
  In addition to his deep love and commitment to our country, he also 
loved to hunt and loved sports.
  I read through some of the comments written on Dan's on-line guest 
books.
  Many people wrote about Dan's sense of humor, his ability to tell 
good stories, and his love for his family.
  It was obvious that Dan enjoyed spending time with his entire family 
together, at reunions, over meals, and watching sports.
  I want to share excerpts from a few.

       Danny . . . My Big Brother . . . Thank you for trying to 
     make peace in this insane world, so that our children can 
     have a safe place to someday raise their children. Ian and 
     Arden will always remember their Uncle Danny. I find comfort 
     in knowing that your spirit is together with Grandpa and Dad. 
     I know they have embraced you. The strength of three 
     generations of Eshbaugh's looking over us will be the 
     strength that we all hold in our hearts. I will love you 
     forever . . . your little sister Kimberlee.''
       There are so many memories I have to cherish of my cousin 
     ``Danny''. He was so much fun to see when our families would 
     get together on visits to Grandma and Grampa's house when we 
     were young. . . . I will cherish these and all the memories 
     that I have. I am so proud to be your cousin.
       We are proud of Dan's dedication and loyalty to protecting 
     this country. God grant us the wisdom to be worthy of his 
     ultimate sacrifice. Dan, may you, my brother Dan and my Dad 
     find your ``mansion'' up there overlooking a fully stocked 
     lake in that happy hunting ground.''

       And from Dan's friends and the soldiers he served with the 
     entire family, nieces, nephews, and cousins, they all said 
     that Dan, or ``Danny'' as his family called him, was an 
     inspiration for all to follow and had a positive impact on 
     all who met him.


                   Chief Warrant Officer Brady Rudolf

  CWO Brady Rudolf served as a CH-47 ``Chinook'' pilot in the 149th and 
had been in the National Guard for over 20 years.
  Brady was also a pharmacist when not on duty.
  In 2003, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 
and spent 4 months in theater.
  Brady is survived by his wife of 13 years, Jennifer, and their three 
sons Braden, Ty, and Nate.
  Brady is also survived by his mother Nathalia and brother Dustin.
  Last night, I spoke to Jennifer, Brady's wife, and we talked about 
Brady's love of flying, something, as a pilot myself, I can fully 
understand.
  Jennifer also talked about his strong faith and commitment to Jesus.
  Dustin Rudolf, Brady's brother, said Brady was a dedicated father, 
husband and soldier who comes from a long line of servicemen in the 
Rudolf family.
  ``He was a great father, a great husband and just an all-around great 
human being. The sacrifice he gave for our freedom and what we live for 
here in America is an awesome thing and he knew it and he lived it.''
  Dustin also said that his brother was voted class clown by his 
graduating class.
  ``He was a jokester but he could be serious too when it mattered,'' 
Dustin said.
  ``He was a conscientious pilot who liked to take care of people. He 
would give the shirt off his back for anyone.''
  The following is from Brady's online journal:
  One of his co-workers from the pharmacy wrote,

       I worked with Brady for several years at the Pharmacy in 
     Newscastle. Of the many things I could say about him, these 
     seem the most important: He spoke with deep adoration and 
     love for his family and his faith in the Lord. He was always 
     proud of the smallest accomplishments and milestones his boys 
     achieved. . . . Thank you for allowing me to share in a small 
     part of his life. Because of Brady's love and faith in the 
     Lord, I was able to find my way back to my faith. Thank you, 
     Brady, for your service to our beloved country.

  From a fellow classmate in pharmacy school:

       We were in pharmacy school with Brady. He was an excellent 
     man of values and had a great love for his family. Brady was 
     an encouragement to be around.

  And finally a friend wrote:

       I remember Brady as a blonde-headed, bright eyed, fun-
     loving All-American boy. His smile would light the room. It 
     is apparent that he grew up to be a man of such good 
     character-an All-American Hero! . . . May Brady's legacy of 
     service to others be carried on by each of us. Your family is 
     in my thoughts and prayers.


                          CPL MICHAEL THOMPSON

  CPL Michael Thompson served as a door gunner in the 149th.
  Michael graduated Kingston High School in 2003 and then enlisted in 
the Army in 2004.
  He left active-duty service and joined the Oklahoma Army National 
Guard in 2007.
  Michael previously deployed to Iraq in 2005 and spent 11 months in 
theater.
  Michael is survived by his father Kory Thompson of Harrah, OK, his 
mother Angela Perry, his stepfather Richard Perry, and sister Jami.
  Michael also leaves behind his fiancee, KC Colvin.
  When I talked with Michael's mom Angela last night, she spoke about 
how her son's love for people and how he was loved by everyone.
  He never met a stranger he did not like and who did not like him; 
even the mailman loved Mikey, Mikey was the name he is affectionately 
known by his many friends and family.
  Mikey was full of personality and he loved to hunt and fish.
  Family members said that he volunteered to go to Iraq because the 
Army needed a qualified open-door machine gunner.
  ``He was qualified for machine guns from his active duty in the 
military before this,'' said Richard Perry, Michael's stepfather. ``He 
volunteered to go to help out.''
  CPT Travis Ward, an Oklahoma Guard helicopter pilot, said Michael 
transferred into the Oklahoma Army National Guard at the first of the 
year after serving in the infantry.
  ``He made two drill weekends with us and on the second one, he heard 
the rumor that the deploying units were looking for people to be door 
gunners.
  ``As soon as he heard that, Michael came straight to me and asked if 
he could volunteer. The very next weekend, he started with that unit. 
He was

[[Page 21657]]

a very excited young man and extremely enthusiastic.''
  Here are some comments from Michael's online journal:

       Job well done soldier! You were a true Patriot and warrior 
     keeping America strong . . . You are in Post everlasting now. 
     You will NEVER be forgotten. To the family I can only say 
     your son/husband/friend will forever be a hero. I salute you 
     . . .
       John 15:13 says, ``Greater love hath no man than this--that 
     a man lay down his life for his friends.'' I feel so blessed 
     to have known Michael and even more so that he died 
     protecting our way of life as we know it. You will be missed 
     by all who knew you.
       Mikey never met a stranger. His personality and love for 
     life was contagious! You will be greatly missed, and I feel 
     lucky to have met such a loved and loving person.

  I am incredibly proud of these three men, who gave themselves fully 
to their families and their commitment to protecting our country.
  They loved being soldiers and made the ultimate sacrifice for our 
freedom.
  Dan, Brady and Mikey were men of strong character, full of 
personality and sense of humor, and courage in the face of war.
  I want to salute each of you. You are our heroes. You are all 
incredible men, patriots, fathers, husbands, sons, grandsons, uncles, 
and friends. You are what this country is all about, we will never 
forget you.
  This country will never be able to adequately repay you, or your 
families, for your service and the sacrifice you have made to this 
nation.
  I am honored to pay tribute to you today and know that our thoughts 
and prayers are with you and your families.
  And to the loved ones, it is my understanding that all three of these 
heroes knew Jesus and knew the Lord well. I would say to you this: this 
is a wink of time that we are here. This is not goodbye to Dan, Brady, 
Mikey; it is: We will see you later.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas is 
recognized.

                          ____________________