[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4540-4541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   STAFF SERGEANT JOSEPH D'AUGUSTINE

  (Mr. CRAWFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CRAWFORD. As cochairman of the House Explosive Ordnance Disposal 
Caucus and as a former Army EOD tech, I address you today with a heavy 
heart. On Tuesday of this week, Staff Sergeant Joseph D'Augustine was 
killed in Afghanistan by an IED. He was 29 years old.

[[Page 4541]]

  Staff Sergeant D'Augustine was an EOD tech in the United States 
Marine Corps, and he had four tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq to 
his credit. He enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after he graduated 
from Waldwick High School in New Jersey in 2001. As an EOD tech, Staff 
Sergeant D'Augustine displayed the full extent of his bravery by 
clearing explosive threats in defending the lives of his fellow 
marines, soldiers, airmen, and sailors.
  EOD techs, like Staff Sergeant D'Augustine, play an invaluable role 
in securing our freedom and in combating terrorism, but too often their 
heroic deeds go unreported.
  Staff Sergeant D'Augustine is survived by his parents and three 
sisters. I am eternally grateful for Staff Sergeant D'Augustine's 
service to our country and for all the brave men and women who defend 
our freedoms at home and abroad as members of the armed services. On 
behalf of the Congressional EOD Caucus and the inter-service EOD 
family, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Staff Sergeant 
Joseph D'Augustine.

                          ____________________