[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10226-10227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                 lance corporal timothy matthew jackson

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I want to speak about a young man 
from Corbin, KY, who gave his life in service of our country. LCpl 
Timothy Matthew Jackson, a U.S. marine, was tragically killed while 
conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 
September 30, 2010. He was 22 years old.
  Lance Corporal Jackson was deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 9th 
Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, 
Fox Company, based out of Camp Lejeune, NC.
  For his heroic service, he received many awards, medals, and 
decorations, including the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the 
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, three Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, 
the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, two Iraq Campaign Medals, the Global 
War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
  Lance Corporal Jackson--who went by his middle name, Matt--attended 
Corbin Elementary School, Corbin Middle School, and Corbin High School, 
where he graduated in the class of 2007. Many who knew Matt in school 
knew of his desire to serve in the military after graduation. He was an 
enthusiastic participant in his school's Junior Reserve Officer 
Training Corps.
  ``All he ever wanted to do when he graduated was join the Marines and 
serve his country, and that's what he did,'' says COL Rick McClure, 
Matt's senior instructor in Corbin High's JROTC program.
  Matt was an ``outstanding young man. He was quiet. Always had a 
smile. Just a super young man,'' Colonel McClure says. ``And as long as 
I knew him, what he wanted to do was to graduate from high school and 
be a marine . . . I'm just so thankful that we have guys like Matt that 
will go and give their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.''
  Matt's wife Nikki remembers the surprising way Matt asked her to 
marry him. It was on Christmas Eve. Matt and Nikki were with family, 
opening presents. One present was addressed to both of them, and Matt 
opened it to reveal a Cracker Jack box.
  ``He handed it to me and said open it,'' Nikki says. ``When I did, 
everyone's hand shot for some, and by the time I could pour some in my 
hand it was crumbs. There fell the ring in my hand, and I looked at him 
and he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said 
yeah.'' Matt and Nikki were married on May 22, 2009.
  For Matt's mom Jody Tonkin, it is too hard to pick just one memory of 
her son. ``I don't have just one,'' she says. ``As his mom, all my 
memories are the best.''
  Matt's aunt Theresa Jackson Hopkins, remembers when Matt was a little 
boy and went on a trip to Disney World. ``He had a smile on his face 
the whole time,'' she says. ``That had to be the highlight of his life, 
until he met Nikki.''
  Matt worked hard to prepare himself for the service, and joined the 
Marine Corps right after high school. In 2008 he was deployed to Iraq. 
He also served on missions in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, 
and Cuba. After his military service concluded, he was looking forward 
to a career in law enforcement.
  Matt's uncle Tom Jackson, remembers the day Matt came home from 
Afghanistan for a hero's funeral. At the terminal of the London-Corbin 
Airport waiting to meet the plane carrying Matt's body were over a 
hundred Patriot Guard Riders, with American

[[Page 10227]]

flags on their motorcycles, there to escort the fallen marine to the 
funeral home.
  ``As we followed the hearse from the airport, the Riders slowed, and 
there beside the road was a small group of men, women, and children 
waving flags as tears ran down their faces,'' says Tom Jackson. ``I 
could read their lips saying `thank you' and at that point in time 
there was an outward burst of emotion that I just could not contain. I 
was crying like a baby, a sight that I'm sure that my daughter and 
grandson had never seen from me.''
  The number of people who wished to thank Lance Corporal Jackson for 
his service was so great the funeral home chapel could not accommodate 
them all. The city of Corbin graciously donated the use of the Arena at 
the Southeastern Kentucky Ag & Expo Complex, where hundreds came to pay 
their respects.
  We must keep Matt's friends and family in our thoughts as I recount 
his story for the Senate today. We are thinking of his wife, Nichole A. 
Jackson; his father, Timothy Wayne Jackson; his mother, Jody Tonkin; 
his brothers, Jerricho Tonkin, Barry Daniel Powell, Dustin Johnson, and 
Wayne Spurlin; his stepmother, Lorrie Johnson; his stepfather, Billy 
Bowers; his grandmothers, Mary Jackson and Carol Gable; his uncle, Tom 
Jackson; his cousin, Michael Ryan Hopkins; his aunt, Theresa Jackson 
Hopkins; and many other beloved family members and friends. Matt was 
preceded in death by his grandfather, Edgar Jackson.
  Matt's Uncle Tom can still recall a time he and a 9-year-old Matt 
were walking in the woods after dark and Tom feared they were lost. 
Matt was scared, but put on a brave face nearly until the end--when he 
finally said, ``Uncle Tom, hold my hand,'' just as the two of them 
reached the truck.
  The family of LCpl Timothy Matthew Jackson must be very proud that 
little boy grew up to become one of our country's most honored heroes, 
a brave marine. I want them to know this U.S. Senate honors Lance 
Corporal Jackson for his life of service. And we honor the immense 
sacrifice he made on behalf of a very grateful Nation.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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