[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13113]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           STAFF SERGEANT JESSE AINSWORTH--UNITED STATES ARMY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, it's with great pride but a heavy 
heart that I honor a fallen son of Texas tonight, a United States Army 
soldier from my Second Congressional District.
  Staff Sergeant Jesse Ainsworth gave his life fighting terrorists on a 
battlefield in a far, faraway, desolate land near Kandahar in 
Afghanistan on July 10, 2010. He died from injuries caused by an IED, 
the weapon of terrorists, those cowards that hide in their holes in the 
rugged deserts and come out like rats at night and plant roadside bombs 
to kill Americans, women, and children.

                              {time}  1500

  This is Jesse Ainsworth. He was 24 years of age. He was an American 
warrior, and he was born in Texas and Jesse was an all American boy. He 
loved to hunt and fish in the woods near his home in Dayton, Texas. And 
after attending Dayton High School, he joined the United States Army.
  He was a team leader with the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment of 
the 10th Mountain Division out of Ft. Drum. Jesse served two combat 
tours in Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan. And, Madam Speaker, he 
re-enlisted after his second tour of duty in Iraq and then that is why 
he went to Afghanistan.
  Yesterday, I talked to Jesse's mother, Margeret Hutchins, and she 
said a lot about her son. They live in a little small community called 
Kenefic, just outside of Dayton.
  Jesse was Margeret's only son. And Margeret said Jesse was her hero. 
She said she used to pick him up when he was a little kid from 
kindergarten, and every Friday they'd go to Wal-Mart and buy some toy 
for him. She said ever since Jesse was an itty bitty fellow he wanted 
to be a soldier in the United States Army.
  And the last time she talked to him, Jesse said he was setting up 
camp out in the middle of no place in the middle of the desert. And he 
asked his mother to send him, in the next care package, a Big Red soft 
drink and some Copenhagen chewing tobacco in that care package. Jesse 
was all Texas.
  Jesse loved the Army, he loved his country, and he loved being a 
soldier. He was doing what he wanted to do. He was an Army man.
  All of the flags in the small town of Dayton, Texas, are flying at 
half mast this week. There are signs all over this town of just 5,000, 
handmade signs, electronic signs throughout the community honoring 
Jesse.
  The services will be held on Saturday at the Dayton Community Center, 
and the whole town will turn out to honor their native son and honor 
his family.
  Jesse is survived by his wife, Sarah; their 6-month old daughter, 
Lanna Rose; and his daughter, Lexie, who is three; Jesse's mother, 
Margeret; and stepfather, Wesley; and Jesse's two sisters, Rebecca and 
Shane.
  Jesse will then be buried at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in 
Houston, Texas.
  All of his fellow soldiers gave some, Madam Speaker, but Jesse 
Ainsworth gave all in his defense for freedom.
  Our brave troopers go to war defending freedom and liberty in faraway 
lands. In the dark, cold desert night and the parched, insufferable 
desert heat, these brave warriors pay with their blood and sacrifice 
for freedom and liberty and for America.
  They sanctify with their blood lands they have never seen, and they 
fight for people they do not know.
  Madam Speaker, I have a recent photograph of Jesse. Here he is in 
Afghanistan with an Afghan farmer. You see, that's what our American 
troops are doing. They are the greatest ambassadors for freedom and 
liberty and the American way in the world. And here they are, here 
Jesse is with a person in Afghanistan, a nation that Jesse and his 
fellow troopers are liberating.
  Patrick Henry once said, ``The battle, sir, is not to the strong, it 
is to the vigilant, to the active, to the brave.''
  Madam Speaker, those words still ring true today, and our American 
soldiers carry those values into battle because they are ``Army 
Strong.'' Jesse Ainsworth was such a soldier and a family man. He was 
that hero who has given his life to something bigger than himself.
  So when we gather Saturday to honor this fallen American, Jesse's 
flag-draped coffin will be carried by the Honor Guard. The old war 
horses of the Patriot Guard, those motorcycle riders made primarily of 
Vietnam veterans, they will stand vigil over this beloved family and 
over their sacred fallen brother carrying American flags.
  The rifles will fire the 21-gun salute, and the bugle will sound taps 
for the last time as the name of Staff Sergeant Jesse Ainsworth is 
placed forever on the hallowed roles of those who have given their 
lives defending American freedom and liberty. He will be surrounded by 
his family for the last time, and the war will be over for Staff 
Sergeant Jesse Ainsworth. But the war will never end for his family.
  It has been said what we have done for ourselves dies with us. What 
we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.
  Staff Sergeant Jesse Ainsworth is that rare breed, that American 
breed that lived and died for something bigger than himself. And today 
we honor his life and his sacrifice.
  And that's just the way it is.

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