[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1934]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                     Staff Sergeant Chad A. Barrett

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the service and 
sacrifice of SSG Chad Barrett. Sergeant Barrett was assigned to the 
64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry 
Division out of Fort Carson, CO. He died last Saturday in Iraq at the 
age of 35.
  A native of Jonesborough, TN, Chad grew up in a family with a proud 
history of service. By joining the Army, he followed in the footsteps 
of his older brothers, his cousins, and his grandfather, who earned the 
Purple Heart in World War II.
  Chad was in his 12th year of service and his third deployment to Iraq 
when he died. He took on one of the most dangerous jobs of the war: 
that of a gunner tasked with defending supply convoys. Those convoys 
see it all: improvised explosive devices, rocket attacks, explosively 
formed penetrators, ambushes. Protecting the convoys is a job that 
takes courage, but it also takes a toll. In his second deployment, 
Sergeant Barrett's unit was attacked 42 times. He put himself in harm's 
way and no doubt saved countless lives, but each day, each mission, and 
each fight has a cost that we often forget. However steely one's nerves 
or how strong one's will, the daily sacrifices of our soldiers do cause 
wounds and injuries of their own. These wounds are sometimes less 
visible than those of a bullet or a blast, but they are no less painful 
and certainly no less deadly.
  Mr. President, the daily heroics of Chad's service in Iraq will be 
remembered long after the words from this floor fade. This was a lesson 
of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, as he honored the tens of 
thousands who perished at Gettysburg. ``The brave men, living and dead, 
who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to 
add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we 
say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the 
living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they 
who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.'' As we honor the life 
of Sergeant Barrett, may we embrace this charge and rededicate 
ourselves to our unfinished work and to the dream for which every 
soldier serves--that of achieving stable and lasting peace.
  To Sergeant Barrett's wife, Michelle, his sons, Guston and Zachary, 
his parents, Linda and Ronnie, and to all his family and friends, our 
thoughts and prayers are with you. I cannot imagine the pain and grief 
that you are feeling. In time, though, I hope your sorrow will be 
salved by the knowledge that Chad served his country with honor and 
that we are all grateful for his courage, sacrifice, and daily heroism. 
May his legacy always endure.

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