[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18081]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO STAFF SERGEANT ALEX ANTHONY VIOLA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 3, 2013

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Army Staff Sergeant 
Alex Anthony Viola who was killed in the Kandahar province of 
Afghanistan on November 17, 2013 while serving with the 7th Special 
Forces Group at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
   Staff Sergeant Viola was born in New York and moved to Keller, Texas 
at the age of nine. He earned a degree in engineering from the 
University of North Texas before embarking on his lifelong goal to 
serve in an elite military unit.
   Upon graduating from college he entered the Navy and was accepted 
for the elite Navy SEAL program. While injury prevented him from 
completing the program, he never gave up on his dream. Staff Sergeant 
Viola joined the Army National Guard in 2009 and began Special Forces 
training in the spring of 2010.
   Staff Sergeant Viola lost his life to an improvised explosive device 
five weeks after starting his first deployment to Afghanistan.
   Staff Sergeant Viola was a true patriot whose persistence and 
commitment are to be applauded. His mother said it best, ``He was just 
a great guy and I'm not saying that because I'm his mother. This is 
what he wanted to do, and he kept trying and training. We were just in 
awe of him, his drive to do that.''
   I wish to extend my condolences to Staff Sergeant Viola's family and 
hope that they continue to find solace in his lasting impact on both 
his grateful country and his proud Special Forces family.

                          ____________________