[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13937-13938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING GOLD STAR MOTHER OF CAPTAIN KIMBERLY HAMPTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 20, 2011

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following 
remarks from Mrs. Ann Hampton, who recently traveled to the Kurdish 
Region of Iraq. She is the proud Gold Star Mother of Captain Kimberly 
Hampton, who was killed in action on January 2, 2004, in Fallujah, 
Iraq.

       ``My recent trip to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was 
     everything I hoped it would be, and more! Traveling with 
     another gold star mom and dad, a medically retired soldier, 
     and the founder of the Friends of Kurdistan Foundation, the 
     visit was filled with welcome events. We met several 
     Kurdistan Regional Government officials, who all willingly 
     gave us their undivided attention and treated us graciously. 
     We were told over and over that their nation is our nation, 
     their homes, our homes, and that we share the bonds of 
     friendship forever. Their deep appreciation to the United 
     States for liberating them from Saddam's tyrant regime knows 
     no end. They said thanks.
       ``We visited hospitals, clinics, and villages in Kurdistan 
     where progress is being made just as there are still hurdles 
     ahead. We visited homes and were welcomed with open arms. We 
     visited the home of a widow who lost 20 family members in one 
     of the regime's chemical attacks. She fed us cantaloupe, 
     bread and water, almost all she had. We visited a camp and 
     were fed peaches and water, almost all they had.
       ``One very important thing Kurds and other Iraqis do have 
     now is hope; hope for peace, security and maybe one day, 
     prosperity. There was significant construction across Iraqi 
     Kurdistan, which is a good sign that people have risen and 
     taken charge of their freedoms, and serve also as role models 
     to peoples in other countries in the Middle East and North 
     Africa.

[[Page 13938]]

       ``I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit 
     Kurdistan, and hope to go back again to continue my 
     humanitarian work. Seeing and hearing the appreciation of the 
     Kurdish people for the U.S. has made a tremendous impact on 
     my healing, as a proud mother of an American soldier, 
     Kimberly, killed in action liberating Iraq. The only way to 
     move forward is by strengthening people-to-people links 
     between Americans and Iraqis, in and out of government. The 
     people of Kurdistan extended their hand to me, and I am 
     grateful.''

  As the co-chairman of the Kurdish Regional Congressional Caucus I 
have visited the Region, and my oldest son led an Army National Guard 
convoy through the Region. We share the optimism of Mrs. Hampton that 
the liberated Kurdish Region of Iraq has a bright future of peace, 
security, and prosperity as a friend of America.