[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12955]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE LIFE OF U.S. MARINE CORPS SERGEANT CHAD D. FROKJER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 23, 2011

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and courage of 
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Chad D. Frokjer of Maplewood, Minnesota.
  Sergeant Frokjer was a member of a dismounted patrol conducting 
combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan when an improvised 
explosive device detonated, killing him on June 30, 2011. The convoy 
commander of a mobile assault team for the Battalion's Alpha Company, 
he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine 
Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Pendleton, 
California.
  A graduate of North High School in North Saint Paul, Minnesota, 
Sergeant Frokjer, 27, joined the Marine Corps in 2003. He served two 
tours in Iraq before being deployed most recently to Afghanistan on 
March 27, and was scheduled to leave the military in October, 2012.
  Sergeant Frokjer's father, Brian, recalls that his son enlisted in 
the Marines after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. His love for the 
United States is what inspired him to ``make sure nothing like that 
ever happened again.'' Every wall in his childhood bedroom is covered 
with photos and documents highlighting his eight years as a Marine, 
from the photo of him with his friend and fellow Marine sergeant, Eric 
Oden, to his top citation for excellence in navigation curriculum which 
he received during his time at Camp Pendleton. The photos depict just a 
handful of the many that knew and loved him. He is remembered for his 
passionate commitment to working with his fellow servicemen to serve 
the citizens of the United States, as represented by the trophy he won 
for his outstanding performance during an infantry squad leader course.
  Sergeant Frokjer married Leslie, the love of his life, last fall. In 
January of this year, the couple was elated to learn that they were 
expecting a baby, due September 28. Their unborn son, Eli James 
Frokjer, will never know his father, but he will know that his father 
died while valiantly defending this country and the freedoms which he 
loved dearly. Eli James will know that his country is safer because of 
his father's courageous and honorable sacrifice.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the life of Sgt. Chad D. 
Frokjer for his brave and honorable service to the United States and 
his commitment to protecting our freedom. I extend my deepest 
sympathies to Sergeant Frokjer's widow, Leslie, his parents, Arlene and 
Brian, and his sister, Nikki, for their profound loss.

                          ____________________