Gilbert Gutknecht: “I rise today to honor Lance Corporal Roger Wayne Deeds, who served in the Second Marine Division from Camp Lejeune…”

“I rise today to honor Lance Corporal Roger Wayne Deeds, who served in the Second Marine Division from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Corporal Deeds died November 16 while searching for insurgents in the town of Ubaydi, Iraq. He was killed by small arms fire as he returned to the scene of combat to rescue a fellow Marine. Corporal Deeds spent his favorite years in Truman, Minnesota, where his mother, Joyce, still lives. Roger Deeds leaves behind a 16-month-old son and a 7-week-old daughter that he never met. He lived in Goldsboro, North Carolina with his wife, Sarah. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I honor the memory and the service of this brave American. It is fitting to offer tribute on a day already set aside for remembrance. The anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that took place on December 7, 1941. Much like the brave soldiers who fell that day, Corporal Deeds made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom. Mr. Speaker, the attack on Pearl Harbor thrust our Nation into a terrible world war. Today we find ourselves in the midst of war once again, a very different kind of war. 64 years ago, in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt in this very Chamber addressed the country. His closing thought is as appropriate now as it was then.…”