[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12954]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO ARMY SPECIALIST BRENDAN PATRICK NEENAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bright) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRIGHT. Madam Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart to pay tribute 
to Army Specialist Brendan Patrick Neenan today. Specialist Neenan was 
killed in Afghanistan on June 7th by an improvised explosive device, 
otherwise known as an IED. He died while defending the country he loved 
so dearly. He was only 21 years of age.
  A native of Enterprise, Alabama, Brendan was the third generation of 
his family to be a part of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was stationed 
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and a member of the 2nd Battalion, 508th 
Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team.
  After high school, Brendan enrolled at Enterprise State Community 
College, where I went to school, where, like his older brother Tim, he 
showed an interest in comedy. But Brendan had a higher calling and 
strongly believed he should serve his country first before doing 
anything else. Without question, he adhered to the concept of America 
first.
  His brother Tim noted to the Southeast Sun newspaper in Enterprise, 
``Brendan was a third generation 82nd Airborne. Him, my dad and my 
grandfather did the exact same thing in the military. He was very proud 
of being a third generation 82nd. He absolutely, not in a political 
way, but in an altruistic way, believed in doing something,'' and that 
something was serving his country.
  Even when he was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, Brendan was 
worried more about his family than himself. He told his sister Katie to 
keep her grades up. He encouraged his brother Tim to continue his 
career in comedy. His father Hugh Neenan said, ``He was a very gentle 
soul, the nicest soul you would ever want to meet, but he was a tough, 
tough young man.''
  When Brendan passed away, the loss was not only for the Neenan 
family, but for the entire country. America lost a true hero, someone 
dedicated to standing up for the values we hold so dear. He was an 
outstanding young American.
  When I spoke to Hugh Neenan shortly after his son's passing, 
Brendan's character shined through despite the fact that Mr. Neenan was 
understandably still distraught from losing a son. Brendan was simply 
performing his duty to his country, following a proud family tradition.
  Madam Speaker, delivering these speeches is one of the toughest 
duties any Member of Congress has to do during his tenure or her tenure 
here, but what we do here pales in comparison to the brave actions of 
all of our men and women serving overseas. They are the true American 
heroes and they deserve our unending gratitude for their sacrifices.
  Brendan was laid to rest on June 22nd in Arlington National Cemetery 
alongside 300,000 other American patriots. His tomb there will be an 
eternal reminder of his sacrifice to our country.
  The loss of Brendan was a blow to his father Hugh, his stepmother 
Lesa, his brother Tim, his sister Katie, as well as the entire 
Wiregrass area in southeast Alabama. Enterprise and the area 
surrounding Fort Rucker, Alabama, have seen more than its fair share of 
loss over the last several years.
  May our thoughts and prayers be with the entire Wiregrass community, 
as well as Brendan's family, during their time of mourning.

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