[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11858]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              ODE TO A FALLEN HERO: SERGEANT JOSHUA HARDT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TOM McCLINTOCK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 28, 2010

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of 
U.S. Army Sergeant Joshua Hardt of Applegate, California. Today, I read 
a poem, written in Sergeant Hardt's memory, which serves as a testament 
to both his character and fidelity.

                          Ode To a Fallen Hero

                          (By Ting De Guevara)

     No one asked you to volunteer
     You did it because you loved your country
     More than pure piney woods,
     More than sparkling, high mountain lakes
     Or the sauntering, Sierra streams
     The possibilities were endless
     A police officer, a federal marshal, a wife and family
     Perhaps a fishing guide, for the flatlanders
     Who only dreamed of finding rainbows in the eddies
     Instead, you answered the call of duty
     Not for money, nor glory, nor fame
     But because you wanted to make
     A difference in the world
     You traded your Carhartts
     For Army green, gilded buttons,
     Spit and shine
     Your boyish smile
     The twinkle in your eye
     Betrayed who we really knew
     Our jovial, jaunting, Joshy
     Your country called you
     Like a far-away alarm,
     In the foggy dream of yesterday
     Fighting your way through Iraq
     Returning quieter, somber and more patient
     Knowing those things that only soldiers know,
     The sounds and horrors of war
     Still, your passion for fishing and golf
     Was unquenchable,
     Displaying your catch and taunting: ``Where's your 
           Troutzilla?''
     Oh you scoundrel! You rogue!
     How we envied your hole-in-one luck, your trout madness
     And your contagious laughter
     Filled our hearts, refreshing
     Like a cold bottle of beer
     On a hot summer's day
     Then Uncle Sam pinned those stripes on your sleeve
     Sending you to a strange and foreign land
     Where women and children were forced
     To surrender their last vestige of freedom
     There, in the frozen mountains
     In those smoke filled hours
     The tracers flying, rockets exploding
     Amid the trees like a firestorm
     You fought bravely
     My courageous son,
     Even as the world collapsed around you
     You remained steadfast
     To your men and your flag
     You may stand down, Sergeant Hardt
     Your tour is over,
     Your mission completed,
     We love you
     God bless you
     Farewell, our fallen hero.

                          ____________________