[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 24939]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                          SERGEANT JOSHUA KIRK

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, it is with deep sympathy and a heavy 
heart that I express my condolences to the family of SGT Joshua Kirk 
who was killed on October 3 in Afghanistan. Joshua was serving his 
second tour of duty as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The American 
people will forever be grateful for his ultimate sacrifice.
  Sergeant Kirk enlisted in the Army in the spring of 2005, joining the 
4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO. 
He was originally from Thomaston, ME and attended Southern Maine 
Community College, where he met his wife Megan of Exeter, NH, and 
earned a degree in construction technology.
  Joshua believed deeply in his mission and in the cause of freedom for 
which he and seven of his fellow soldiers sacrificed their lives 
together. Words will not assuage the anguish each of these soldier's 
family will feel, nor the sense of loss at Fort Carson when these brave 
men failed to return home, but we hope that one day these families will 
take solace in what President Lincoln described as ``the solemn pride 
that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of 
freedom.''
  Our Nation can never fully repay the sacrifice Sergeant Kirk and his 
family have made. Through his service, he helped preserve the safety 
and security of the American people. It now falls to all of us to take 
up this responsibility and ensure that the cause Sergeant Kirk gave his 
life for is won for his wife and young daughter.
  I ask my colleagues to join me and all Americans in honoring the life 
of SGT Joshua Kirk.


                     Staff Sergeant Kurt R. Curtiss

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to U.S. Army 
SSG Kurt R. Curtiss of Utah who made the ultimate sacrifice for his 
country on August 26, 2009. The staff sergeant died from injuries 
sustained from enemy small arms fire in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. 
Staff Sergeant Curtiss was leading his unit into a hospital trying to 
rescue patients trapped inside when the attack occurred.
  Staff Sergeant Curtiss was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters 
Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 25th 
Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, AK, in support of Operation 
Enduring Freedom.
  On the day after the September 11 attacks, Kurt Curtiss enlisted in 
the Army. He wanted to protect his country and make the world a better 
place. This call to service led to two tours in Iraq and a final tour 
in Afghanistan. The sense of patriotism exhibited by his actions 
provides a striking example to us all.
  Early in his youth, Staff Sergeant Curtiss learned of selflessness 
and acceptance as he grew up in a home where his mother cared for over 
60 foster children. He will be remembered for his love, devotion, 
compassion, and humor. Curtiss loved life. He was a caring man who 
always placed others before himself, a characteristic exemplified by 
his final moments.
  Staff Sergeant Curtiss left behind a wife and two young children who 
I hope can find solace in the immense gratitude that our Nation owes 
for his selfless service to his countrymen. We are forever in his and 
his family's debt.
  Therefore I know that I am joined by all of my colleagues in the 
Senate in mourning the loss of SSG Kurt R. Curtiss, our protector and 
hero.

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