[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3491]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                  Private First Class Eric D. Currier

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart to pay 
tribute to the life and service of Marine PFC Eric D. Currier of 
Londonderry, NH. This young soldier died from wounds inflicted by an 
enemy sniper in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on February 17, 2010. 
Private First Class Currier was just 21 years old at the time of his 
death. A rifleman, he was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine 
Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at 
Camp Lejeune, NC, and was deployed to Afghanistan in January.
  Eric was born in Massachusetts but moved to my home State of New 
Hampshire when he was in the eighth grade. He continued his schooling 
in Londonderry and graduated from Londonderry High School in 2007. Like 
many in northern New England, Eric was an avid outdoorsman. He began 
fishing with his grandfather at the age of three. He enjoyed camping 
trips with his brothers and was a skilled hunter. He spent many summer 
days boating, fishing and swimming while staying with his grandparents 
on Plum Island in Massachusetts. Eric even met his future wife, Kaila 
Parkhurst, while canoeing on the Saco River as a teenager. He was a 
fine young man, friendly and outgoing, who cared deeply for his family. 
Army PVT Brent Currier, Eric's brother, describes him as the hero of 
his seven siblings.
  Eric enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 2009 with a desire to 
serve an important cause and make his family proud. He most certainly 
accomplished those goals. Private First Class Currier selflessly joined 
the men and women of our armed services who give of themselves each day 
so that we, as a nation, might enjoy freedom and security. He has 
earned our country's enduring gratitude and recognition. While Eric's 
life may have ended too soon, his legacy lives on through the people 
who loved him and through all of us, who are forever indebted to him.
  No words of mine can diminish the pain of losing such a young 
soldier, but I hope Eric's family can find solace in knowing that all 
Americans share a deep appreciation of his service. Daniel Webster's 
words, first spoken during his eulogy for Presidents Adams and 
Jefferson in 1826, are fitting: ``Although no sculptured marble should 
rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, 
yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.'' I 
ask my colleagues and all Americans to join me in honoring Eric's life, 
service and sacrifice.
  Private First Class Currier is survived by his wife Kaila; his father 
Russell Currier; his mother Helen Boudreau and her husband Kevin; 
siblings Brent, Dylan, Kevin, Melana, Cassie, Jake and Alyssa; as well 
as grandparents, in-laws, and others. I offer my deepest sympathies to 
his entire family for their loss, and my sincere thanks for their loved 
one's service. This young marine will be dearly missed; his death while 
deployed far from home is another painful loss for our small State and 
for this Nation. It is my sad duty to enter the name of PFC Eric 
Currier in the Record of the U.S. Senate in recognition of his 
sacrifice for this country and his contribution to freedom and lasting 
peace.

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