[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4153]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                      Staff Sergeant Steven Blass

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the life of SSG 
Steven Blass, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan while 
serving his country. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Tricia, 
his young son Hayden, his parents, Randy and Carol, and all his family 
and friends. I know they are feeling his loss very deeply now, as is 
the entire community of Estherville, IA, his hometown. I understand 
that Steven Blass was patriotic even as a child and that joining the 
Army had been a dream of his. He was doing what he loved when he gave 
the ultimate sacrifice. His love of country and zeal for freedom 
represent the very best of America. Like all the patriots before him, 
his sacrifice has helped keep the torch of liberty burning bright. The 
United States of America is indeed fortunate to have a native son like 
Steven Blass, eager to serve his country and risk everything for his 
fellow citizens. We are forever in his debt. Although it is a debt 
which we can never repay, it is a debt we must honor by remembering SSG 
Steven Blass and what he did for all of us.

                          ____________________