Chuck Grassley: “today I pay tribute to a true American hero, SSG Kyle B. Wehrly. On November 3, 2005, Staff Sergeant Wehrly was…”

“today I pay tribute to a true American hero, SSG Kyle B. Wehrly. On November 3, 2005, Staff Sergeant Wehrly was tragically killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom by an improvised explosive device outside of Ashraf, Iraq. He served with B Battery of the 2nd battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment in the Army National Guard. I request that all Americans join me today in honoring Staff Sergeant Wehrly. We should all remember his bravery, his compassion, and his final sacrifice to the cause of freedom. Throughout our history, great men and women have stood up and given their lives for their country, and it is with great sadness that we pay tribute to another brave American whose time with us was all too short. Staff Sergeant Wehrly patriotically joined the National Guard when he was only a junior in high school and was sent to the Middle East in October 2004. Upon his arrival in Iraq, his father, Rev. Peter Wehrly of Springfield, IL, recalls that his son only wanted to be sent things he could give away to the Iraqi children. ``All he wanted was stuff for kids. Candy, flip-flops. . . . We had five boxes of stuff. He didn't want anything for himself,'' Reverend Wehrly said. All those who knew Staff Sergeant Wehrly will greatly miss him. My prayers go out to his family and friends in their time of grief, his father Peter, his mother Nita, and his wife Janet.…”