Evan Bayh: “I also rise today with a heavy heart and deep sense of gratitude to honor the life of a brave young man from Evansville.…”

“I also rise today with a heavy heart and deep sense of gratitude to honor the life of a brave young man from Evansville. Darren DeBlanc, 20 years old, died on April 29 when a roadside bomb exploded during his patrol in Baghdad. With his entire life before him, Darren risked everything to fight for the values Americans hold close to our hearts, in a land halfway around the world. A 2003 graduate of Reitz High School, Darren was only 2 weeks away from returning home to Evansville when this tragedy occurred. In March, he had been decorated for his bravery in Iraq with a Purple Heart, after surviving an earlier bomb attack. Darren had a carefully laid plan for his life: he intended to finish his 3-year commitment to the Army, then take classes in law enforcement in the hopes of boosting his application to join the Evansville police force with his brother. Friends and family recount that he was an outgoing, driven, and personable young man with a promising future ahead of him. His mother Judy Woolard told a local television station, ``I know if he is looking down on us, he is very proud with the way his life ended because if he was to go, this was the way, trying to help other people.'' I stand here today to express Indiana's gratitude for Darren's sacrifices and for those made by his family on behalf of our country. Darren was killed while serving his country in Operation Iraqi Freedom.…”