[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5323-5324]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                         FALLEN HEROES FLAG ACT

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, what I came to talk about today is a bill 
we did pass a couple of weeks ago. As we get ready for police week 
early in May--I think the week of the 9th of May--there are people we 
want to recognize and do recognize and do appreciate. I am cochair, 
along with Senator Coons of Delaware, of the Law Enforcement Caucus. I 
want to speak today about something we have just done to honor our 
first responders.
  I want to start by recognizing the first responders from my State of 
Missouri who lost their lives in the line of duty last year. In 
Missouri, four law enforcement officers died in the line of duty. 
Deputy Sheriff Steven Brett Hawkins of the Harrison County Sheriff's 
Office, Trooper James Matthew Bava of the Missouri State Highway 
Patrol, Sergeant Peggy Marie Vassallo of the Bellefontaine Neighbors 
Police Department, and Officer Ronald Eugene Strittmatter of the 
Lakeshire Police Department lost their lives.
  Deputy Sheriff Brett Hawkins of Bethany, MO, suffered a fatal heart 
attack on September 13 following an emergency response. He was 34 years 
old. Deputy Sheriff Hawkins suffered that attack after returning home 
from his shift, which included the search of a residence and 
surrounding property. He had served with the Harrison County Sheriff's 
Office for 3 years. He is survived by his wife, daughter, and three 
sons.
  Trooper James Bava of Mexico, MO, was involved in a fatal vehicle 
crash while pursuing a motorcyclist for a traffic stop on August 28. 
Trooper Bava had served with the Missouri State Highway Patrol for 2 
years. He was 25 years old the day he lost his life serving us. He is 
survived by his parents, a brother, three sisters, and his fiancee.
  Sergeant Peggy Vassallo of Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department 
was struck and killed by a vehicle on August 24 while rendering aid to 
another driver after being involved in an accident en route to work. 
Sergeant Vassallo had served with the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police 
Department for 15 years and had previously served with the St. Louis 
County Police Department for over 13 years, almost 30 years' service. 
She is survived by her husband, son, and two grandchildren.
  Officer Ronald Strittmatter suffered a heart attack after attempting 
to help an older person who had fallen. Officer

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Strittmatter had served in the Lakeshire Police Department for 4 years 
and had previously served in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police 
Department for 24 years. He is survived by his wife and a son.
  In Missouri, we also lost five firefighters and first responders in 
the line of duty last year.
  Battalion Chief Chris Tindall of Raymore, MO, died shortly after 
responding to an emergency incident in January 2015. He was a 19-year 
veteran of the South Metro Fire Department.
  Larry Lawhorn, a volunteer firefighter with the Orchard Farm Fire 
Protection District, suffered a fatal medical emergency in May of last 
year while driving a first responder vehicle en route to a structure 
fire. He had been a volunteer with the department for 20 years and had 
previously served 15 years with the St. Charles County Fire District.
  In October 2015, two firefighters were killed in Kansas City in the 
line of duty. Larry Leggio, a 17-year veteran of the Kansas City Fire 
Department, and John Mesh, a 13-year veteran of the Kansas City Fire 
Department, were able to save two residents from a burning apartment 
complex before a wall collapsed on them after they had evacuated other 
people from the building.
  EMS pilot Ronald Rector of Linn, MO, was killed during a flight 
operation in March 2015. He was inbound to pick up additional crew 
members at St. Louis University Hospital in a medical helicopter when 
his helicopter crashed.
  Early this month, I introduced the Fallen Heroes Flag Act, which 
creates a program to provide a flag flown over the Capitol to the 
family of firefighters, law enforcement officers, members of rescue 
squads or ambulance crews, and public safety officers who lose their 
lives in the line of duty. I thank my colleagues for unanimously 
passing that bill last week. The House had already passed a similar 
measure introduced by Congressman Peter King, and I hope to get a final 
bill on the President's desk in very short order.
  Our Nation's first responders put themselves in harm's way to keep us 
safe, and we mourn the loss of all those who have given their lives in 
the line of duty. We can never in any way fully repay the debt we owe 
them and their families. These are people who go to work every day, 
with the greatest goal for their families being that they come home 
safely that day, and they have more reason to worry about that than 
most of us have. All we can offer instead is our gratitude. My hope is 
that each flag that is flown over the Capitol and provided to these 
families will be a lasting symbol of our appreciation and a fitting 
honor to those who embody the very best of what we stand for as a 
nation.

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