María Elvira Salazar: “I wish to speak for a moment to honor the memory of a fallen Coloradan: Army Cpl Christopher Franklin Sitton of…”

“I wish to speak for a moment to honor the memory of a fallen Coloradan: Army Cpl Christopher Franklin Sitton of Montrose. Corporal Sitton was a medic with the 10th Mountain Division, serving in Afghanistan since March. He had just turned 21 and graduated from Montrose High School just 3 years ago. Now, instead of having his whole life ahead of him, he has been taken from his friends, family and country by a roadside bomb in Kunar, in eastern Afghanistan. Chris Sitton was looking forward to a medical career. His interest in medicine reached back to his childhood, where as a young man in Quinlan, TX he would accompany his father, a volunteer with a rescue group, on emergency calls. Corporal Sitton's time in the Army was marked by excellence, not unlike his time in high school. Secialist Sitton entered the Army nearly 3 years ago, in January 2004. In his service, Specialist Sitton received three commander's coins, recognizing his exemplary performance in the Army. One was personally handed to him by a four-star general. This achievement is remarkable to many but not to those who knew Christopher Sitton. Chris was a natural leader. A standout track star, he is pictured mentoring a younger teammate in a photo that hangs in his high school track coach's office. Young people naturally gravitated to him, and Chris returned their enthusiasm with a smile one friend described as big as Texas itself. As a young man, Chris Sitton was an accomplished Eagle Scout.…”