[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18494-18495]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                      Pennsylvania's Fallen Heroes

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, as we confront a whole range of difficult 
issues at the end of this year and at the end of this Congress, we 
should also be reminded we have fighting men and women serving for us 
all over the world.
  We think especially tonight of those serving in Afghanistan and those 
who served prior to that time in Iraq. At various times we have come to 
the floor and recited the names of those who were killed in action, and 
tonight I am joined by my colleague Senator Toomey to read the names of 
Pennsylvanians who gave, as Lincoln said, the last full measure of 
devotion to their country--those who have been killed in action in 
Afghanistan over the course of parts of 2011 and 2012.
  I yield the floor for my colleague, Senator Toomey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the senior Senator 
from Pennsylvania, for organizing this brief tribute that is so much 
deserved by the men and women we are acknowledging today.
  I wish to begin by extending my deepest condolences to the families, 
friends, and loved ones of these Pennsylvania heroes whom we are going 
to acknowledge this evening. In the lives our servicemembers led and 
the cause for which they died, these folks represent all that is great 
about America.
  Many enlisted right after graduating from high school, and during 
those very tough and grueling days and weeks in basic training they had 
probably never heard of places such as Anbar Province in Iraq, the 
Tangi Valley of Afghanistan or the other areas in those nations where 
they fought and ended up dying for our country.
  But these Pennsylvanians join a long line of soldiers, sailors, 
airmen, marines, and Coast Guard members who have given the supreme 
sacrifice to their country, a line that extends well back in the latter 
part of the 20th century and includes World War II, the Korean war, the 
Vietnam war, and of course the global war on terrorism.
  It is no accident that Pennsylvania has suffered very heavily in this 
conflict, as it has in other conflicts throughout our Nation's history. 
I think it is because in towns across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
towns and cities such as Dallastown, Easton, Philadelphia, and Erie, 
there are certain values that are deeply rooted in

[[Page 18495]]

these communities: importance of family, importance of faith, 
importance of community, and the importance of public service, 
including very much the service to this Nation.
  The conviction that freedom is worth defending is one of those 
convictions and the belief that a cause worth fighting for is not just 
someone else's responsibility. These are the values that have shaped 
these men and women, their families, their churches and houses of 
worship, and their communities.
  These values were exemplified in the lives of our fallen men and 
women in service, and they will forever be honored by Pennsylvanians as 
the native sons and daughters of our great Commonwealth for their 
service to the country.
  I will read the names of the men and women who have made the supreme 
sacrifice for courage in this conflict, and Senator Casey will complete 
the list: PFC David Anthony Jefferson, U.S. Army, Philadelphia; SGT 
Louis Robert Fastuca, U.S. Army, West Chester; SPC Jesse David Reed, 
U.S. Army, Orefield; LCpl Abram Larue Howard, U.S. Marine Corps, 
Williamsport; SPC Dale Justin Kridlo, U.S. Army, Hughestown; SPC 
Anthony Vargas, U.S. Army, Reading; SSG Sean Michael Flannery, U.S. 
Army, Wyomissing; GySgt Justin Edward Schmalstieg, U.S. Marine Corps, 
Pittsburgh; MSG Benjamin Franklin Bitner, U.S. Army, Greencastle; 1LT 
Demetrius Montaz Frison, U.S. Army, Lancaster; SSG Edward David Mills 
Jr., U.S. Army, Newscastle; Sgt Joseph Michael Garrison, U.S. Marine 
Corps, New Bethlehem; Ssgt Patrick Ryan Dolphin, U.S. Marine Corps, 
Moscow; Sgt Christopher Matthew Wrinkle, U.S. Marine Corps, Dallastown; 
PO1 Michael Joseph Strange, U.S. Navy, Philadelphia; TSgt Daniel Lee 
Zerbe, U.S. Air Force, York; SSG Eric Scott Holman, U.S. Army, Evans 
City; Lt. Col. Christopher Keith Raible, U.S. Marine Corps, North 
Huntingdon; CPO Nicolas David Checque, U.S. Navy, Monroeville; CDR Job 
W. Price, U.S. Navy, Pottstown; and finally, MAJ Wesley James Hinkley, 
U.S. Army, Cumberland City.
  I yield the floor to the senior Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. CASEY. I thank the Senator for reading the first half of our 
names, and I will continue with 20 more names: Sgt Derek Lee Shanfield, 
U.S. Marine Corps, Hastings, PA; SFC Robert James Fike, U.S. Army, 
Conneautville; SFC Bryan Alan Hoover, U.S. Army, West Elizabeth; Sgt 
Joseph Davis Caskey, U.S. Marine Corps, Pittsburgh; LCpl Joshua Thomas 
Twigg, U.S. Marine Corps, Indiana; CPL Joshua Alexander Harton, U.S. 
Army, Bethlehem; LCpl Ralph John Fabbri, U.S. Marine Corps, Gallitzin; 
SSG David Jee Weigle, U.S. Army, Philadelphia; Cpl Eric Michael Torbet, 
Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, Lancaster; CPL Jarrid Lee King, U.S. Army, 
Erie; SGT Robert Curtis Sisson, Jr., U.S. Army, Aliquippa; PFC John 
Francis Kihm, U.S. Army, Philadelphia; 1SG Kenneth Brian Elwell, U.S. 
Army, Erie; SGT Edward William Koehler III, U.S. Army, Lebanon; SSG 
Brian Keith Mowery, U.S. Army, Halifax; SSG Kenneth Rowland Vangiesen, 
U.S. Army, Erie; SrA Bryan Richard Bell, U.S. Air Force, Erie; CPT 
Michael Cean Braden, U.S. Army, Lock Haven; PFC Cameron James 
Stambaugh, U.S. Army, Spring Grove; and finally, SSG Brandon Robert 
Pepper, U.S. Army, York, PA.
  As I conclude the list of Pennsylvanians who were killed in action 
over approximately a 2-year time period in Afghanistan--and one of the 
names that was read was killed in Iraq--we remember and think of them, 
and obviously we are paying tribute to them on a night like tonight. At 
the same time, we are also thinking of their families as we pay tribute 
to them.
  I am reminded of the great recording artist Bruce Springsteen. One of 
his songs was entitled ``You're Missing,'' and the refrain over and 
over again is ``you're missing.'' He was able to sing, but I won't. The 
song goes something like this: You're missing when I shut out the 
lights; you're missing when I close my eyes; you're missing when I see 
the sunrise.
  For all those families out there who lost someone in Afghanistan, 
Iraq, or in other conflicts, we are thinking of them tonight because 
they are missing someone in the midst of this end-of-the-year and 
holiday season. We are remembering them tonight and paying tribute to 
those they loved and lost and also remembering them in our prayers.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.

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