[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2014-2015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                   Master Sergeant Clinton W. Cubert

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a brave 
soldier from Kentucky who was lost in the performance of his duty. On 
September 11, 2005--4 years after the brutal attacks that compelled our 
Nation to fight the war on terror that we still fight today--MSG 
Clinton W. Cubert was on combat patrol in Samarra in Iraq. An 
improvised explosive device set by terrorists exploded under his 
humvee.
  Master Sergeant Cubert, of Lawrenceburg, KY, sustained mortal 
injuries in the blast. He survived to be transported to the Lexington 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, KY, and was reunited with 
his family. He passed away on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006, at the age 
of 38.
  For his valor during service, Master Sergeant Cubert received 
numerous medals and awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, 
the Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal.
  Born in Texas, Clinton Cubert moved to Lawrenceburg with his family 
at an early age. His parents, C.D. and Virginia Cubert, raised a boy 
who loved the outdoors. As a child, Clinton enjoyed deer hunting, 
boating, fishing, or just about anything that took him outside.
  Clinton enjoyed country music, especially Hank Williams, Jr. He drove 
what family members kindly called ``beat-up'' Ford trucks and liked to 
get under the hood and tinker with them to keep them running until they 
couldn't go anymore.
  Family members called him ``Clinton,'' but he also earned an unusual 
nickname. Because Clinton was willing to trade his entire lunch for the 
one food he loved so much, his friends called him ``Cornbread.''
  Clinton met Amy, his wife, in Lawrenceburg when they were both in 
their early twenties. Amy thought Clinton looked very handsome in his 
uniform. Clinton and Amy raised two wonderful young women, Alisha 
Danielle and Sarah Dawn.
  Clinton enlisted in the National Guard in 1987 and went on to serve 
with distinction for nearly 19 years. Normally he worked in the 
Combined Support Maintenance Shop at the Guard's headquarters in 
Frankfurt, KY, the State capital. Then, in January 2005, he was 
deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Assigned to the 2113th 
Transportation Company, he became platoon leader of that unit's newly 
created 4th Platoon.
  For Clinton's commanding officer, CPT William Serie, Clinton was his 
first and most obvious choice. ``[Master Sergeant Cubert] was the most 
dedicated in making sure his soldiers were trained, equipped and 
ready,'' he says. ``People use the word `dedicated' and `outstanding' 
and things of that nature, but I don't think those words really express 
what he did for us. He was truly a person that was outside the mold.''
  In Iraq, Master Sergeant Cubert trained with 30 members of his 
platoon in combat tactics so that the units they protected in transit 
would arrive at their destinations safely. Captain Serie tells us that 
Clinton was innovative in devising new ways for soldiers to do their 
jobs more safely and efficiently.
  ``I believe that God puts special people in our lives to show us what 
we are capable of,'' Captain Serie says. ``Clinton was that type of 
leader.''
  When Clinton was injured, the Army contacted Amy, and she flew to 
Germany to see her husband. Younger daughter Sarah was the first to 
answer the phone. At the age of 12, she wrote an essay for school about 
the terrible day her family received the news. ``I was looking in the 
mirror thinking all questions,'' Sarah wrote. ``Like the obvious ones--
why us? Why now? But also the ones that are only thought by a 
daughter--who is going to walk me down the aisle? Who is going to give 
me hugs like him? Who is going to dress me up in camouflage flannels 
and take me hunting?''
  We grieve today along with the Cubert family for their loss. Clinton 
leaves behind his wife Amy; his daughters, Alisha and Sarah; his 
sisters, Linda Lou Martin, Nancy Marie Robinson, Julie Ann Dent, and 
Peggy Ann Cubert; his brother Steven Wayne Cubert, and many other 
beloved family members and friends. Clinton was predeceased by his 
parents, C.D. and Virginia Cubert.
  Clinton was taken from his loved ones before his time, but it must 
have been a blessing for them that he was able to come home and say 
goodbye. I am sure they will treasure forever every moment spent with 
Clinton. ``No one will forget his laughter,'' wrote his daughter Sarah, 
``like the boom of gunshots during the funeral or the bagpipes playing 
Taps.''
  This Senate will not forget MSG Clinton Cubert's bravery and service. 
Kentucky and the Nation are richer for his contributions to freedom's 
cause.
  I yield the floor, Mr. President.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in brief response to the distinguished 
Republican leader's remarks about the FISA extension, I acknowledge the 
bill passed yesterday. I voted against it, and I voted against cloture 
on the bill, but it was a bipartisan passage. I understand that. I 
don't dispute that. I saw what the numbers were. The bill was changed a 
little as it came from the committee, but it passed. It was bipartisan. 
I recognize that.
  But the efforts made to extend this should be bipartisan. The House 
is going to do what they do, and they are going to send us a piece of 
legislation. They have not had time--I have spoken to the Speaker, and 
she has not had time, through her committees, for them to come up with 
the necessary work to have a conference that is meaningful because they 
are not ready for that. So they are going to send us a message and we 
are going to have to act on that.
  If we pass it, it will not be what the President wants. If we have a 
little more time, the House, which has been working recently with the 
White House quite well on the stimulus package and other things, maybe 
could work something out. But you can't create something out of 
nothing, and that is what the President wants. He is looking for an 
excuse to wave his banner of ``be afraid, terror.'' That is what he and 
the Vice President have done.
  We understand the law is important. We believe it should be extended 
for a short period of time. If it is not extended, it is not the fault 
of the Congress, it is the fault of Bush and Cheney. We are doing 
everything we can to work this out. If it doesn't pass in the manner he 
wants, and it won't in the next few days--he wants total immunity for 
these phone companies that have cooperated or haven't cooperated with 
him, whatever the evidence shows. So I repeat, if we don't get an 
extension, the law will lapse. It is not the fault of the Congress, it 
is the fault of the White House.

[[Page 2015]]

  Mr. President, I think we should announce what we are going to be 
doing here today.

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