[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Pages 27633-27634]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           FORT HOOD SHOOTING

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, of course, the Nation will observe 
Veterans Day this week, as we have each year, in commemoration of the 
11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month with the end of World War 
I. This commemoration is one of special importance this year. We are in 
the midst of two wars where literally tens of thousands of Americans 
risk their lives each day in service of our country. It gives us a 
heightened awareness of our military and the men and women who show 
such extraordinary courage in serving.
  Many of us have taken on the task of reaching out to the families in 
our States who have lost soldiers in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
When I took on this responsibility a few years ago, I had no idea that 
by 2009, I would still be writing notes of condolence to families in 
Illinois. But it continues and, of course, other tragedies intervene.
  Just last week, there was the tragedy at Fort Hood, claiming two 
lives of Illinois soldiers, as well as those of 11 others, and another 
28 seriously wounded. It is a reminder of the danger of this commitment 
that each soldier makes. It is a reminder too that each of us needs to 
have gratitude for their service, not only on this day when we 
commemorate veterans and their service but around the calendar year.
  We seem to be more focused on veterans issues in the midst of war, 
and that is no surprise. In my office last week, the major veterans 
organizations came in and talked about the fact that there seems to be 
more interest in veterans hospitals and veterans benefits and the GI 
bill than ever before, and it has a lot to do with the fact that we are 
in the midst of a war.
  We also understand this tragedy at Fort Hood has brought a sharpened 
awareness of the vulnerability and the commitment of our soldiers. All 
Americans were saddened by this horrific outburst of violence. That the 
brave men and women who are trained to defend our Nation at war should 
be cut down on a U.S. Army post on American soil apparently at the 
hands of an Army doctor is deeply shocking and painful. We grieve for 
these men and women who died in this despicable act. We pray for their 
families and the recovery of all those who were injured.
  We pray for the soldiers and families stationed at Fort Hood, for the 
safety of all of our brave men and women in uniform wherever they are 
stationed. This horrendous attack touches us all deeply. But we know 
the horror of this tragedy, like the burdens of wars in Afghanistan and 
Iraq, falls hardest on our servicemembers and their families. We want 
them to know our entire Nation stands with them.
  Among the fallen at Fort Hood were two young soldiers from Chicago: 
PFC Michael Pearson of Bolingbrook, IL, and PVT Francheska Velez from 
the West Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago. Both of these fallen 
veterans were 21 years of age.
  PFC Michael Pearson was an honor roll student in high school and a 
talented musician who taught himself to play the piano and was 
passionate about playing guitar. He joined the Army a little over a 
year ago. He has been training to defuse explosives and roadside bombs 
and was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan this January.
  He was a devoted son. When his father was laid off from his job, 
Michael sent money home to buy new tires for the family car.
  He leaves behind his mom and dad, Sheryll and Jeff, a sister and two 
brothers, including one who serves in the Illinois National Guard.
  PVT Francheska Velez joined the Army right out of high school. She 
had already served a year in South Korea and 10 months in Iraq where 
she drove fuel tankers and disarmed bombs.
  Friends say she wanted to make the military a career and hoped one 
day to be a psychologist and help soldiers cope with the stress of 
battle.
  Private Velez had just returned from Iraq 3 days earlier, 3 days 
before the shooting, to begin maternity leave. Her father, Juan 
Guillermo Velez, a Colombian immigrant who never realized his dream of 
serving in the U.S. military, said his daughter was living his dream 
``to be part of the military, part of the United States.''
  In addition to her father, Private Velez leaves her mother Eileen and 
two older brothers.
  Another young soldier from the Chicago area, PFC Najee Hull, of 
Homewood, IL, is among those wounded in the Fort Hood tragedy. Private 
Hull is also 21 years old. He was shot three times, twice in the back, 
once in the knee, as he was preparing to complete paperwork to be 
deployed to Afghanistan. He remains hospitalized.
  I was meeting with representatives of these veterans service groups 
and lawyers who donate their time to help veterans when the names of 
the Fort Hood victims became known. There was a profound sense of 
sadness in the room.
  The men and women who wear America's uniform are some of the finest 
people our Nation has to offer. They are patriots who are willing to 
sacrifice to protect each and every one of us. They and their families 
have endured great hardship during these wars. They are heroes, such as 
CAPT Russell Seager of Racine, WI. Captain Seager was a nurse 
practitioner who had worked at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee 
with soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was 51 
years of age. His uncle said he had been a ``helper'' all his life. 
Four years ago, he joined the Army Reserve. Captain Seager was 
scheduled to go to Afghanistan in December. He had gone to Fort Hood 
for training. He is among the 12 soldiers and one civilian who died 
there. He leaves a wife and 20-year-old son.
  A few months ago, in an interview with Milwaukee's public radio 
station, Captain Seager explained his decision to enlist. He said:

       I've always had a great deal of respect for the military 
     and for service, and I just felt it was time that I stepped 
     up and did it.

  That is part of what defines America's military members and veterans.

[[Page 27634]]

This Wednesday, we will remember and honor all our veterans, from 
Bunker Hill to Baghdad. We will remember, in particular, those brave 
men and women who lost their lives at Fort Hood.
  President Obama, Army Chief of Staff General Casey, and Secretary of 
the Army John McHugh have ordered a thorough investigation into how 
this tragedy at Fort Hood occurred. The inquiry must happen. We need 
answers, and we need to do everything possible to ensure it never 
happens again. While the authorities are investigating, we also need to 
be thoughtful and reserve judgment about the proper response.
  Consider this: One week before the gunman allegedly opened fire on 
his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, U.S. military investigators released 
a report regarding another horrific incident. Last May, an army 
sergeant, with 15 years in the military, killed five of his fellow 
soldiers on a military base in Baghdad. The soldiers, including an Army 
psychiatrist, were killed in a stress clinic where the gunman was being 
counseled. The soldier who committed the killings was just weeks away 
from finishing his third tour of duty in Iraq and had served previously 
in Bosnia and Kosovo. Until the terrible events at Fort Hood, the 
shooting at Camp Liberty was the worst episode of soldier-on-soldier 
violence.
  The father of the soldier charged with the Camp Liberty killings said 
his son's job in Iraq was defusing bombs and that he probably saw ``a 
lot of carnage and a lot of things he shouldn't have seen, that nobody 
should see.'' The military investigators who looked into those deaths 
blamed a lack of adequate guidelines on how to handle soldiers under 
such severe distress.
  To rush to judgment based on this new act of violence at Fort Hood is 
premature, certainly to the 3,500 Muslim Americans who proudly serve in 
our Nation's Armed Forces today. As you walk through the section of 
Arlington Cemetery devoted to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you 
will find headstones with the crescent star alongside the crosses and 
Stars of David.
  As investigators search for answers to what happened last week, we 
owe it to the brave men and women serving at Fort Hood and throughout 
our military to think clearly and act thoughtfully. We need a better 
understanding of what took place. Let us honor those who demonstrated 
the best our military has to offer when their lives were on the line at 
Fort Hood.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.

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