[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14422-14423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARK E. STRATTON, II

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, noble sacrifice dominates the 
character of a man who so willingly dedicates his life for others. 
There are none who understand that any better today than the men and 
women in our U.S. military. They personify the very essence of what it 
means to be an American.
  Today, under the morning sky at Arlington Cemetery, myself and other 
Members of Congress--Rob Wittman from Virginia, Jo Bonner from Alabama, 
and Senator Sessions from Alabama--joined several hundred other family 
members and friends as a 21-gun salute and ``Taps'' was played for 
United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mark E. Stratton, II. The 
somber silence of the grave sites was broken with this tribute.
  Colonel Stratton trained as a navigator on an Air Force KC-135. In 
his honor, one of these massive aircraft flew low and slow over 
Arlington Cemetery, over the flag-draped coffin of one of Air Force's 
finest. He gave his life helping the Afghan people to know dignity of a 
life lived in freedom.
  He was assigned to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon here in 
Washington, D.C. and he served as the commander of the Panjshir 
Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan. On May 26, 2009, Mark 
died near Bagram Airfield of wounds that he sustained from an 
improvised explosive device, what we call an IED.
  Mark had strong Texas ties. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 
December of 1991 with a degree in political science. And while at Texas 
A&M, he was a member of Squadron 1 in the Corps of Cadets. He received 
his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1992. He 
has numerous Air Force commendations, including the Purple Heart and 
the Bronze Star.
  He is remembered by friends as a man of unquestionable character and 
loyalty. He was a patriotic individual who exemplified the spirit of 
the American airman.
  Lieutenant Colonel Gil Delgado, Mark's former roommate at Texas A&M, 
described Mark as a man who passionately loved God, his family, his 
friends and his country, and it showed in everything Mark did.
  Through his heroic work in Afghanistan, Mark lived a life helping 
other people. His time was spent building roads and clinics, schools 
and canals for the Afghan people. He was an ambassador for the American 
spirit. He described the job to family and friends as the best he had 
ever had in his entire career. When he was killed, Mr. Speaker, the 
villagers in Afghanistan had a memorial service in his honor.
  Mark held a deep sense of tradition. Just a few weeks prior to his 
death, Mark made a special effort to share his Texas Aggie spirit with 
the Afghan friends that he had met. Mr. Speaker, each April 21, the day 
Texas gained independence, Aggies from Texas A&M observed what is 
called Aggie Muster. This occasion is where all Aggies gather in all 
parts of the world to honor Aggies who have died the previous year.
  Even though Mark was the only Aggie within 100 miles of his forward 
operating base, he convinced the Panjshir Provincial Governor and his 
security detail to join him atop a nearby mountain to observe the very 
special occasion of Aggie Muster. One Aggie Air Force colonel and 
Afghan villagers paid tribute to Americans who died the previous year; 
that must have been a sight to see.

[[Page 14423]]

  Texas Aggies have a long tradition of military service. In fact, 
during World War II, Texas A&M produced over 14,000 officers, more than 
came from West Point or Annapolis combined. Mark was a proud Texas 
Aggie.
  Mark is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and their three children, 
along with his mother, stepfather, and his brother, Michael. Mark's 
late father and namesake served as an Army captain in the Vietnam War. 
His stepmother, Debby Young, lives in southwest Houston. Mark's 
brother, Michael, and stepbrother, Steven, also live in the Houston 
area.
  A great testament to Mark's life is the lives he forever changed 
through his work; every structure, every canal and road well traveled. 
Every school Mark helped build will offer generations of Afghan 
children the opportunity that comes from education. Every clinic he 
helped build will be a place where sickness will be cured, where human 
suffering is relieved, and where lives are being saved every day.
  Mark has left a noble legacy as he has come to the end of this 
Earthly journey. It is for others now to pick up the torch he used to 
light a way for the Afghan people in the rugged mountains and deserts 
of this remote nation.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been said, ``The legacy of heroes is the memory 
of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.'' Next year, on 
April 21, at Aggie Muster, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Stratton's name will 
be called. His name and life will be remembered by Aggies and other 
grateful Americans and by his Air Force buddies. But no doubt the 
people of Afghanistan will also remember the man from America, the Air 
Force colonel who built their schools, their water wells, and their 
villages. And maybe those villagers will return once more to that 
mountaintop and pay tribute to this American hero, Lieutenant Colonel 
Mark Stratton.
  And that's just the way it is.

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