[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 7101-7102]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                       Corporal Benjamin K. Brosh

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of Army 
Corporal Benjamin Brosh, of the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 
1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, out of Fort Campbell, 
KY. Corporal Brosh was killed last week in Balad, Iraq, when a car 
packed with explosives detonated near his position at Forward Operating 
Base Anaconda. He was 22 years old.
  Corporal Brosh has roots in Mississippi and Colorado, where his 
mother still lives and where he loved to ski. Those who knew him 
remember his energy, sense of humor, his love for his family, and his 
commitment to the Army and to the soldiers with whom he served.
  He entered the Army in 2006, shortly after experiencing and enduring 
the devastation that Hurricane Katrina wrought on his community. The 
storm stirred Benjamin to understand his gift for helping others in 
times of need. Although the storm had badly damaged his own crabbing 
business, which he had built out of his childhood love for fishing, 
Benjamin spent the days and weeks after the storm helping his family 
and friends dig out from the wreckage. ``He just worked like a Trojan, 
and didn't want anything from it,'' recalls a family friend whose home 
Benjamin cleared of mud and debris.
  He carried his dreams of helping others into the Army and then to 
Iraq, where, amid the violence of firefights and roadside bombs, he 
remained focused on doing what he could to help ordinary Iraqis rebuild 
their lives. Benjamin's father recalls how much he enjoyed delivering 
soccer balls to Iraqi children and then challenging them to a pickup 
game. In a war zone wrought with confusion and tragedy it is hard to 
imagine a gesture of humanity more powerful than that of an American 
soldier joining with Iraqi kids in a soccer match.
  Corporal Brosh's passion for assisting others was matched only by his 
commitment to protecting the soldier next to him. He was a pillar of 
his unit, sustaining his fellow soldiers with his good spirits, 
optimism, and courage. He dispensed advice and encouragement and, 
ultimately, offered his life to protect his unit.
  The words we offer to honor Corporal Brosh cannot begin to describe 
the heroism of his daily work or the depth of his character and 
convictions. From his memory, though, we draw a model for service and 
duty to which we can all aspire.
  At a 1963 gathering remembering the life of the poet Robert Frost, 
President John F. Kennedy reminded the crowd that, ``A nation reveals 
itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, 
the men it remembers.''
  Our Nation tends to recognize those men and women of wide acclaim, 
with whose accomplishments we are already familiar. This, however, is a 
time of heroes. Over a million and a half Americans have left their 
families for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Benjamin Brosh, a 
young man who learned his power to help others in the wake of Hurricane 
Katrina, gave even more than most. He lent his character, he lent his 
optimism, and he lent his life to his country. If a nation, as 
President Kennedy suggests, reveals itself by the citizens it produces, 
then Corporal Brosh is America at our finest. He is a patriot and a 
hero.
  To Benjamin Brosh's parents, James and Barbara, and to all his 
friends and family, our thoughts and prayers are with you. I hope that, 
in time, your grief will be assuaged by the pride you must feel in 
Benjamin's service and by the honor he bestowed upon his country. This 
Nation will never forget him.


                     Sergeant David ``DJ'' Stelmat

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today to honor U.S. Army Sergeant 
David Stelmat of Littleton, NH. On March 22, 2008, Sergeant Stelmat was 
tragically taken from us, along with two fellow soldiers from the North 
Carolina Army National Guard's 1132 Military Police Company, when his 
humvee encountered an improvised explosive device in Bagdad, Iraq. At 
only 27 years old, SGT David Stelmat, or DJ as he was known to his 
friends and family, will always be remembered as an adventurous, fun-
loving young man who enjoyed the outdoors.
  The attacks of September 11, 2001, were the worst our Nation has ever 
experienced. Terrorists hijacked commercial airplanes, turned them into 
weapons, and brutally steered them into the World Trade Center Towers 
in New York, the Pentagon only miles from here, and the last plane lost 
on a field in Pennsylvania as a result of the heroic stance of the 
passengers aboard. It has become part of New Hampshire lore that in the 
wake of this tragedy, when our Nation was looking to heal itself, DJ, a 
1998 graduate of Profile High School, along with a friend, climbed to 
the top of the Old Man of the Mountain and placed an American flag in 
the iconic profile. Pictures of DJ's action quickly spread and served 
as a patriotic symbol of our State and our country.
  Upon returning home from military service to our Nation as part of 
the infantry in Afghanistan, DJ attended the New Hampshire Technical 
Institute in his ardent desire to become an emergency medical 
technician. I am sure that this patriotic need to help our Nation heal 
after September 11 came from the same source of motivation which led to 
his burning desire to achieve his goal of military service as a combat 
medic.
  In January 2006, DJ joined the New Hampshire National Guard's 237th 
Military Police Company. In August of that year he completed training 
as a health care specialist. After receiving training, he deployed with 
the 1132nd

[[Page 7102]]

Military Police Company. As a testament to his service, Sergeant 
Stelmat's awards include a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct 
Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War 
on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with ``M'' 
device, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Action 
Badge, Expert Rifle Weapons Qualification Badge, and an Overseas 
Service Bar.
  My deepest sympathy, condolences and prayers go out to DJ's loved 
ones, especially his parents. The service and sacrifice of Sergeant 
Stelmat remind me of the words of another son of New Hampshire, Daniel 
Webster, who said, ``What a man does for others, not what they do for 
him, gives him immortality.'' As combat medic, there is no doubt but 
that DJ put his country and his fellow soldiers before himself. For 
this selflessness, we are eternally grateful. May God bless U.S. Army 
Sergeant DJ Stelmat.

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