[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING SERGEANT FIRST CLASS JEFFREY BAKER

  (Mr. CRAWFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, last week, the EOD community lost one of 
its best and brightest. Sergeant First Class Jeffrey Baker was killed 1 
week ago today in an IED explosion that killed four of his fellow 
soldiers and injured multiple others. Sergeant First Class Baker was 
assigned to the 766th EOD Company out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, and was 
serving in Sanjaray, Afghanistan, at the time of his death.
  EOD soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are the preeminent 
explosive experts in our Armed Forces. Our joint EOD forces lead the 
fight against the use of IEDs and protect their fellow servicemembers 
and our interests both at home and abroad.
  Too often, the lives of these brave men and women are claimed by the 
very devices they are trained to neutralize. Sergeant First Class Baker 
gave his life along with four of his fellow soldiers in defense of our 
freedoms. It's important that we honor their sacrifice and the 
sacrifices of those who came before them.
  Next week, as the Nation honors the veterans who have given their 
lives for this country, it's important that we take time to recognize 
the risks our troops take on our behalf every day and the need to 
support our veterans and their families.
  Jeffrey Baker was from Hesperia, California, and was just 29 years 
old. He is survived by his wife and his young daughter. My thoughts and 
prayers are with Jeffrey's entire family, the families of his fellow 
soldiers who were killed, and the soldiers recovering from the blast.
  God bless our Armed Forces, and God bless America.

                          ____________________