[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         ``FEARLESS''--STAFF SERGEANT MARK C. WELLS, U.S. ARMY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, most Americans are not personally 
affected by the two wars that America is engaged in the countries of 
Iraq and Afghanistan. We go about our daily routine. We are concerned 
about March Madness, the gasoline prices, but war does not really 
affect most Americans personally. The media doesn't put those events on 
the front page. They are more concerned about the personal lives of 
celebrities than they are about the personal sacrifice of our warriors 
overseas.
  But war is real. Real Americans are tenaciously fighting on two 
fronts for the rest of us. For them, it is personal; and for their 
families, it is very personal. The United States is engaged in the 
longest continuous combat in American history as our troops serve 
overseas.
  Staff Sergeant Mark C. Wells was 31 years of age. He was a member of 
the United States Army, and he was killed on March 5, 2011, in the 
Helmand province of Afghanistan by an IED. That is an improvised 
explosive device. That is the way the cowards that we do battle with 
fight our troops. Of course, they wouldn't come out in the open because 
they would be overwhelmingly defeated.
  Mark was born in San Jose, California, and his parents live in 
Spring, Texas, in my district. He joined the United States Army in 
2003. Growing up he always said, ``I want to be in the Army.''
  He was a volunteer, Madam Speaker, as all of those that are serving 
in Iraq and Afghanistan are. They are volunteers. They have the motto, 
``Here am I. Send me.'' And Mark went. He went to Iraq for 14 months 
serving on active duty, and he has been in Afghanistan since August of 
last year. He was a member of the 303 EOD Battalion and, get this, 
Madam Speaker, an explosive ordinance disposal technician. And, yes, 
that means exactly what it says.
  His dad, Burl, told me this week that his son was ``fearless.'' What 
a great attribute for an American warrior. And he also wanted to be a 
soldier. Also, at the age of 12, he learned how to play the bagpipes. 
It goes back to his Irish heritage. He grew up eating corned beef and 
cabbage. And when he was in Iraq, one of his assignments was to play 
the bagpipes at funerals for other soldiers that had been killed in 
combat.
  He would continually say, ``I love the Army.'' His dad said of his 
son Mark, ``He was my personal hero.''
  His family said he was patriotic, he was a great dad, and he loved 
America. He leaves behind a wife, Danielle, who is 8 months pregnant, 
also a son named Finn that is 2 years of age.
  His father would say that, ``Mark understood the risk involved in 
being in the Army, but he loved what he was doing. And, what I miss 
most is I won't be able to talk to him anymore.''
  Madam Speaker, being in the Army affects people personally, like his 
father, Burl, and his mother, Sharon; his wife, Danielle; Finn, their 
son; and a baby yet to be born.
  Mark Wells' memorial service will be on St. Patrick's Day. Yes, that 
Irish heritage comes into play.
  Many of us in this House have been down the street at Arlington 
Cemetery to attend the funerals of our warriors that have been killed 
overseas. We all know about those bagpipers that stand on the hill and 
play ``Amazing Grace'' in the fog as we bury our war dead. So I suspect 
that on St. Patrick's Day another bagpiper will play for the funeral of 
Mark Wells, Staff Sergeant of the United States Army, and play that 
amazing song, ``Amazing Grace.''
  Madam Speaker, the cause for America and the cause for freedom is 
expensive. It cost America a son, it cost America a husband, and it 
cost America a daddy.
  Where does America get such great men? They are the rare breed. They 
are the American breed. And our prayers go out for his family. But 
while we mourn the loss of Mark Wells, we should also thank the good 
Lord that such men as Mark Wells ever lived.
  And that's just the way it is.

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