[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14960]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        A TRIBUTE TO HONOR THE LIFE OF MATTHEW PATRICK MANOUKIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 28, 2012

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life 
of the always faithful Captain Matthew Patrick Manoukian, United States 
Marine Corps. Captain Manoukian made the ultimate sacrifice on August 
10, 2012, giving his life for his country during his service in 
Afghanistan. He was 29 years old.
  Captain Manoukian was a lifelong resident of Los Altos Hills, 
California, and graduated from Saint Francis High School in 2001. Since 
the age of 10, it had been Matthew's goal to become a Marine. Shortly 
after graduating from the University of Arizona in 2005, he attended 
Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia. After commissioning as 
a Second Lieutenant into the Marine Corps, he joined Camp Pendleton's 
1st Marine Special Operations Battalion after enduring a grueling 
training program that only 40 of 100 men passed. Captain Manoukian was 
in the top five.
  Captain Manoukian rose through the ranks and was deployed twice to 
Iraq and twice to Afghanistan, always at ``the tip of the spear.'' He 
saw his role in Afghanistan as freeing the oppressed from the Taliban 
and bringing a fair legal system to a country that has never had one. 
He also had a deep respect for Middle Eastern cultures and history, 
learning to speak Arabic, and insisting on walking through villages, 
greeting children and their parents in person, instead of patrolling in 
a Humvee.
  Captain Manoukian was completing his fourth tour of duty in 
Afghanistan and had plans to attend law school after completing his 
military obligation. He had already been accepted at Golden Gate 
University where he planned to begin his studies in 2014.
  On a fateful early morning on August 10th during a predawn Ramadan 
meal that Captain Manoukian insisted his troops respectfully observe 
during the Muslim holy month, an insurgent dressed as an Afghanistan 
police officer opened fire and took his life, and the lives of two 
other fellow Marines.
  Captain Manoukian is survived by his father, Santa Clara County 
Superior Court Judge Socrates ``Pete'' Manoukian; his mother, Patricia 
Bamattre-Manoukian, Associate Justice of the Sixth District California 
Court of Appeal; brothers Michael and Martin; and the extended 
Manoukian and Bamattre families.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our deepest 
condolences to Captain Manoukian's beloved family. We celebrate his 
life and his accomplishments, and we are proud to honor his memory in 
the U.S. House of Representatives. Our nation has lost a beloved 
citizen who made his community proud and his country stronger. His life 
enriched ours and may our tribute be a source of comfort to his 
beautiful family during their time of great grief.

                          ____________________