[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9475]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE MARINES AND CORPSMEN OF THE 3RD BATTALION, 25TH MARINES 
                   INFANTRY REGIMENT ON MEMORIAL DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ERIC CANTOR

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 26, 2010

  Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor those who have 
answered the call of duty for their country and made the ultimate 
sacrifice. I would like to call on everyone to reflect this Memorial 
Day on those service members who have sacrificed their lives for this 
country and the family members who were left behind.
   I would like to honor my constituent, Nathan Huffman, USMC Sgt. 
Ret., and other Marine Reservists from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines 
Infantry Regiment and fellow Corpsmen, who served their country 
honorably from March 2005 to October 2005 in Al Anbar Province during 
Operation Iraqi Freedom. This Memorial Day, Sgt. Huffman has organized 
a Memorial Day Ultra Marathon in honor of their 48 fallen Marines and 
Corpsmen who perished during their service in Iraq, and the many other 
service members who have given their lives while serving our country.
   Sgt. Huffman will depart the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, 
Virginia along with many of his fellow Marines, Corpsmen, friends, and 
supporters and run day and night to cover the over 100-mile journey 
which will end at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial. The purpose of 
this ultra marathon from Richmond to Washington, D.C. is to commemorate 
the core values of Memorial Day and honor the fallen. In the words of 
Staff Sergeant Joseph Goodrich on his reflection of Memorial Day, ``I 
started looking at all of the headstones with flags in front of them. I 
started thinking about who they were, how they lived, how they died and 
what they did for me . . . I swore to myself that I would not let them 
down. They sacrificed, and gave to me something I could never repay; 
freedom.'' Sgt. Goodrich was killed in Iraq on July 10, 2005.
   Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of the many 
courageous men and women who have given their lives in the service of 
our great Nation, and their widows, mothers, fathers, sons, and 
daughters who are left behind. They have not given their lives in 
vain--rather they have offered their valor and dedication to a grateful 
Nation. Sgt. Huffman and his fellow runners have heard and answered a 
second call of duty to remind our Nation to never forget the fallen, 
the wounded, and loved ones who have lost their heroes. Please join me 
in recognizing their efforts and those of our brave troops and let us 
never forget their sacrifices.

                          ____________________