[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1795]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             IN MEMORY OF SERGEANT FIRST CLASS SEAN COOLEY

  (Mr. KELLY of Mississippi asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, today I am humbled to rise in 
memory of Army Sergeant First Class Sean Cooley.
  Sean was my friend, and on this day in 2005, he paid the ultimate 
sacrifice to protect our country. It was a privilege to serve with him 
during our deployment to Iraq and Operation Iraqi Freedom III.
  SFC Cooley was assigned to the Mississippi Army National Guard's 
Company B, 150th Combat Engineer Battalion, headquartered in Lucedale, 
Mississippi.
  SFC Cooley gave his life when an IED detonated near him on February 
3, 2005, while on a combat mission in the Babil province, Iraq. SFC 
Cooley was the first 155th soldier from the Dixie Thunder Brigade to 
sacrifice his life in Iraq and was the 21st soldier with Mississippi 
ties to die in the war on terror.
  SFC Cooley followed in the footsteps of both of his grandfathers by 
serving in the U.S. Navy. He joined the Seabees in 1991 and later 
joined the Mississippi National Guard in 1997. SFC Cooley was a platoon 
sergeant in B Company, 150th Engineer Battalion of the 155th Brigade 
Combat team that included 3,500 Mississippians.
  SFC Cooley was a great NCO, a great leader, and a great soldier, both 
on and off the battlefield.
  While serving in the Mississippi Guard, SFC Cooley obtained a degree 
in nursing and became an RN in 1996. His commitment to care for the 
needs of others will always be remembered, as remembered by Lieutenant 
Colonel Robinson, his commander, who said he was sick and down at one 
time during a training incident, and SFC Cooley gave him both medicine 
and water and made sure that he took care of him. SFC Cooley will 
forever be remembered for his random acts of kindness.
  Sergeant First Class Cooley's mother, Kathryn, says her husband, 
Jerry; their son, Patrick; and Sergeant First Class Cooley's wife, 
Laura, could not be more proud of his devotion to the military service 
and this Nation.
  Sean Cooley embodied the characteristics that made him a great 
leader, soldier, and American.

                          ____________________