[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                        Sergeant Isaac Palomarez

  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam President, I rise today to honor the life of Army 
Sergeant Isaac Palomarez of Loveland, CO. Sergeant Palomarez was killed 
last Friday in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan. He and his unit were 
working to root out Taliban cells and insurgent networks when his 
patrol ran across a roadside bomb and was then attacked with grenades 
and small arms. Isaac Palomarez was 26 years old.
  Those who knew Sergeant Palomarez describe him as a gifted student, a 
spirited competitor and successful athlete, and a soldier committed to 
honoring his country and fulfilling his duty.
  He was an honor student at Loveland High School who excelled in math, 
was an avid reader of military history, and filled his free time with 
sports. He helped Loveland High School's football team win a State 
championship in 2000, using his talent, work ethic, and heart to 
outcompete opponents who outweighed him by 50 or a hundred pounds.
  After graduating from high school in 2001, Isaac took classes at 
Colorado State University, but was uncertain about which path to 
choose. In 2004, sensing a responsibility to serve his country and his 
community, he enlisted in the Army, following in the footsteps of his 
father. He was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry 
Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, out of Fort Campbell, KY.
  Sergeant Palomarez's first deployment was to Iraq, in 2005. After a 
year, he returned safely, in answer to the prayers of his family and 
friends.
  Earlier this year he deployed again, this time to Afghanistan. Kapisa 
Province, in northwest Afghanistan, remains an outpost for Taliban and 
insurgent forces, and is a strategic link between the border regions 
and Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. Sergeant Palomarez was working with 
his unit and coalition forces to deny extremists a foothold in this 
critical area. It was a dangerous mission in an unforgiving place.
  Sergeant Palomarez served in the finest tradition of America's 
soldiers. He was professional, compassionate, and committed to his 
country, community, and family. Shortly before he was killed, he 
borrowed a cell phone from another soldier, called his mother, and 
wished her a happy Mother's Day in advance. It was the last time he 
spoke with his family--news of Isaac's death reached his family before 
Mother's Day arrived.
  The sense of duty and purpose that inspired Sergeant Palomarez's 
service is fundamental to our Nation's liberty and our democracy. The 
strength of our union stems from the willingness of American citizens 
to work and fight for the rights and freedoms of others, no matter the 
danger or the cost.
  This was the message that William Allen White, the famous newspaper 
editor, delivered to Northwestern University graduates in 1936 as the 
specter of fascism loomed over Europe and Asia. ``Liberty, if it shall 
cement man into political unity,'' said White, ``must be something more 
than a man's conception of his rights, much more than his desire to 
fight for his own rights. True liberty is founded upon a lively sense 
of the rights of others and a fighting conviction that the rights of 
others must be maintained. Only when a people have this love of 
liberty, this militant belief in the sacredness of another man's self-
respect, do races and nations possess the catalyzer in their political 
and social organism which produces the chemical miracle of crystallized 
national unity and strength. We Americans have had it for three hundred 
years on this continent. It was in the blood of our fathers. It was the 
basis of our faith in humanity when we wrote our constitution.''
  In Isaac Palomarez's honorable service we find the same love of 
liberty that has bound our union, generation after generation. In his 
courage and commitment to helping others, we are inspired to a greater 
faith in humanity. And in his sacrifice, we are humbled and indebted.
  To Sergeant Palomarez's parents, Elma and Candido, to his three older 
brothers, and to all his friends and family, I know no words that can 
assuage the pain you feel. I hope that in time your grief will give way 
to the pride you must feel for your son, to the joy that he stirred 
among those who knew him, and to the knowledge that his country will 
always honor his legacy. He will never be forgotten.

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