[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25015]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO SERGEANT JOSHUA M. HARDT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to U.S. Army 
Sergeant Joshua M. Hardt of Applegate, California. He's one of the 
fallen heroes of the Battle of Kamdesh, that remote outpost that was 
besieged and surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered by more than 300 
Taliban insurgents on October 3.
  No soldiers in the history of our Nation have fought more valiantly 
or bravely than the defenders of Combat Outpost Keating on that day. In 
the end, they held their ground, they defended their flag and the honor 
of their country. But most importantly, they defended something that is 
fundamental and sacred and eternal, that defines humanity itself. They 
defended something that can never be abandoned as long as humanity 
exists. They defended right against wrong, good against evil, freedom 
against tyranny in its most stark and defining form.
  During the terrible winter of 1776, Thomas Paine, having watched many 
brave young men like Josh Hardt fall in defense of these same eternal 
truths, offered these words to try to make some sense of it. He said, 
``Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would 
be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be 
highly rated.''
  Joshua Hardt knew that, and his family knew that. Through her tears, 
his mother told a local newspaper, ``He was a very giving son. He went 
into the Army wanting to make a difference . . . wanting us to be safe 
. . . He expressed his desire to do more, to take more action, and to 
make a difference. He didn't know a better way than to go into the 
military and to fight for everybody.''
  And that's exactly what he did. He fought for his Nation, he fought 
for his Nation's values, and he fought for the freedom of a people half 
a world a way. And he paid for heaven's most expensive celestial 
article with his life, not for himself but for others.
  I attended a Gold Star dinner recently, and I admitted to one the 
hosts that I still don't know what to say to the families. She said, 
well, just ask them about their sons.
  So let me tell you a little bit about Josh Hardt. He was 24 years 
old. He's remembered at Placer High School as an extraordinary athlete. 
He did his school so proud on the football field that they retired his 
helmet when he graduated. He was one of those big, hulking kids who 
stand up for whoever's being picked on.
  I spoke with his wife and with his mother today and they both told me 
exactly the same thing: that he was first and foremost a family man, 
willing to do anything for his family and for his friends and for his 
country.
  He joined the Army just 3 years ago. He'd already risen to the rank 
of sergeant and carried a chest of ribbons, including the Bronze Star. 
Perhaps the most eloquent testimonies to his service are the 
remembrances from younger soldiers that he'd taken under his wing to 
help. In fact, that was his next assignment, to come back to the States 
and help his returning comrades.
  His football coach, Mark Sabins, remembered seeing him back home last 
year after the first tour of duty in Iraq and tells how excited he was 
to be marrying a remarkable young lady, Olivia, and how energized he 
was about his work in the Army and his plans for a family and how he 
looked forward to a full and promising life ahead.
  Instead, Joshua Hardt will return home tomorrow for the last time. 
His family and friends will come to mourn him and to honor him and to 
remember him. His community will hold him up as an example of all that 
is heroic and virtuous. His Nation will record his name onto its most 
hallowed rolls that he never be forgotten.
  Centuries from now, flags will be placed on his grave every year as 
future generations gather to consider the cost of their freedom. And 
perhaps in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, they will gather around a monument 
where Outpost Keating once stood and give thanks for the men who paid 
everything to purchase for them so celestial an article as freedom.

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