[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7927]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE FORT HOOD, TEXAS, NINE

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Texas has been hammered by historic 
torrential rain and flooding.
  As the Texas floodwaters rose, 12 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, 
were crossing Owl Creek in a 2\1/2\-ton Light Medium Tactical Vehicle 
when it became stuck in the Owl Creek low water crossing. Suddenly, the 
vehicle was swept over and sent downstream by fast-moving water. Nine 
American soldiers drowned in the massive flood waters. Today, we 
remember them, and here they are:
  Staff Sergeant Miguel Colon Vazquez, 38, from New York. He had just 
spent four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan;
  Specialist Christine Armstrong, 27, of California;
  PFC Brandon Banner, 22, of Florida;
  PFC Zachery Fuller, 23, of Florida;
  Private Isaac Deleon, 19, of Texas. He was the youngest of all of 
them. He had only been in the Army for 17 months;
  Private Eddy Rae'Laurin Gates, 20, of North Carolina--a former 
homecoming queen;
  Private Tysheena James, 21, of New Jersey;
  West Point cadet Mitchell Winey, 21, of Indiana;
  Specialist Yingming Sun, 25, of California.
  These are the nine who drowned recently in the Texas floods. The 
soldiers were members of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery 
Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division. 
These American soldiers were volunteers who swore to protect the United 
States. They were a cut above the rest and were ready to defend freedom 
at home and abroad. Their lives were ripped from this world and their 
families all too soon.
  We are grateful for them and their families for their service and 
their sacrifices. These soldiers are the best of America. Our thoughts 
and prayers are with the soldiers and their families, who have been 
devastated by the floods of Texas this spring.
  And that is just the way it is.

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