[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING CONTRIBUTIONS OF NINE HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS AND MOURNING 
                               THEIR LOSS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2010

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise to 
recognize the contributions of nine humanitarian aid workers, including 
six Americans, who were killed in Afghanistan last month, and to mourn 
their loss.
  These six Americans were dedicated to the health and well-being of 
the people of Afghanistan. Mr. Glen Lapp, a nurse from Lancaster, PA, 
had been in the country nearly two years and was managing a provincial 
ophthalmic care program. Ms. Cheryl Beckett from Knoxville, TN, had 
been working in the areas of community development and maternal-child 
health for the past six years. Dr. Tom Grams, a dentist from Durango, 
CO, was inspired to lend his services to victims of the Taliban in 
Afghanistan shortly after the September 11th attacks. Dr. Tom Little, 
an optometrist from Delmar, NY, had spent the better part of thirty 
years in the country and was the coordinator of a national ophthalmic 
rehabilitation program. Mr. Dan Terry of Pennsylvania had also lived 
and worked in humanitarian aid in Afghanistan for several decades. And 
videographer Mr. Brian Carderelli, from Harrisonburg, VA, had been in 
the country less than a year documenting the lives of the Afghan 
people.
  The humanitarian efforts of this group and others are some of the 
best ways that Americans can reach out to the people of Afghanistan. 
This important work will help establish a better relationship between 
our countries, and directly undermines the work of terrorist groups. We 
mourn not only the loss of these six brave individuals, but the greater 
loss to Afghanistan and the United States alike.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that all my distinguished colleagues join me in 
honoring Mr. Glen Lapp, Ms. Cheryl Beckett, Dr. Tom Grams, Dr. Tom 
Little, Mr. Dan Terry, and Mr. Brian Carderelli. Our world will be a 
darker place, for want of their light.

                          ____________________