[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES

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                        PENNSYLVANIA CASUALTIES

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise tonight to offer a few brief 
remarks. I am joined on the floor by my colleague Senator Toomey. We 
are both here tonight to read a list of names of those who gave, as 
President Lincoln said a long time ago, the last full measure of 
devotion to their country, Pennsylvanians who lost their lives in 
Operation Enduring Freedom.
  We know that since the beginning of the conflict, Pennsylvania now 
has lost to date--the latest number I have seen is 92 killed in action. 
Tonight we will read the names of five who gave that last full measure 
of devotion.
  Before I turn to my colleague, it is very hard for me to fully 
understand or appreciate what the loss of a loved one means when they 
lose their life in war. We often turn to quote Lincoln or the 
Scriptures. They are both appropriate. One of the best descriptions I 
heard was by the songwriter Bruce Springsteen. He was writing songs in 
the aftermath of 9/11. He had one song where the refrain was ``you're 
missing.'' Of course, it could apply to a family who lost someone in 
war.
  One of the lines in that song goes something like this: You are 
missing. When I turn out the light you're missing. When I close my eyes 
you're missing. And when I see the sunrise, you're missing.
  I can only turn to words such as that because I have never walked in 
those shoes, of being part of a family who lost someone in Iraq or 
Afghanistan or in any conflict. So tonight we pay tribute to those 
Pennsylvanians who gave so much to their country, and their families as 
well have given so much to their country.
  I am honored to be joined by my colleague Senator Toomey, who will 
begin to read the names.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague Senator Casey for 
organizing this brief tribute that is so much deserved by the 
servicemembers we are going to be acknowledging in a few minutes.
  I would like to begin by extending my deepest condolences to the 
families, friends, loved ones of these true Pennsylvania heroes and the 
lives that they led and the cause for which they died. Those men 
represent all that is great about this great country.
  Some enlisted right after graduating from high school. During those 
very tough and grueling days and weeks in basic training, I suspect 
they never heard of the places in Afghanistan where they would make 
this sacrifice.
  These Pennsylvanians, of course, join a long list of soldiers, 
sailors, airmen, and Coast Guard members who have given their lives for 
this country, to include those who gave their lives in World War II, 
the Korean war, the Vietnam war, of course the ongoing war against 
violent radical Islamists all around the world.
  It is no accident that Pennsylvania has suffered so heavily in this 
conflict, as it has in every other conflict in our Nation's history. I 
think it is because in the towns across Pennsylvania, towns and cities 
such as Tafford and Mohnton, there are certain values that are deeply 
rooted in those communities: importance of family, importance of faith, 
the importance of serving this Nation. There is a deep conviction that 
freedom is worth defending, and a belief that a cause worth fighting 
for is not just someone else's responsibility. These are the values 
that have helped shape these service members, their families, their 
churches, their houses of worship, and their communities. These values 
are exemplified in the lives of our fallen who will forever be honored 
by our great Commonwealth for their service to this country.
  I will begin reading the names of the men who made the supreme 
sacrifice for freedom last year in this conflict, and Senator Casey 
will complete the list:
  CWO Matthew Paul Ruffner, U.S. Army, Tafford; CWO Jarett Michael 
Yoder, U.S. Army, Mohnton; SSG Marek Soja, U.S. Army, Philadelphia.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague for starting the list. 
I will read the remaining names. I should correct myself. I said five 
at the beginning. I had the count wrong. It is actually six 
individuals:
  SSG Thomas Baysore, Jr., United States Army, Milton, PA; SGT Patrick 
Hawkins, U.S. Army, Carlisle, PA; SSG Patrick Quinn, U.S. Army, 
Quarryville, PA.
  As I conclude the list of Pennsylvanians who were killed in action 
over the past year, I want to say again we honor them. We pay tribute 
to them. By this brief commemoration we remember them. We remember them 
and we also remember the families they left behind. To quote Lincoln a 
second time, he once wrote to a family, ``I pray that our Heavenly 
Father may assuage of your bereavement, and leave you only the 
cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must 
be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of 
freedom.''
  None of us could say it better than Abraham Lincoln did. But we offer 
that prayer tonight to the families. So to the families of our fallen 
heroes, from these and from other conflicts, please know that they and 
you are in our thoughts and prayers.
  Again, I thank Senator Toomey.
  I yield the floor and would suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Casey). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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