Rob Portman: “I rise today to pay special honor to Matt Maupin and to all our brave servicemen and women who are putting their lives…”

“I rise today to pay special honor to Matt Maupin and to all our brave servicemen and women who are putting their lives on the line for us again on the sands of Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. Specialist Maupin has been missing, as I said, since April 9, 2004. His convoy came under attack. He was taken captive. He is still missing. He went to Iraq because he believed in the fight. He went to Iraq for the freedom of the Iraqi people and to make America and our world a safer place. He is truly an American hero. In our part of southern Ohio, there has been an outpouring of support for Matt; prayers, but also yellow ribbons have cropped up everywhere: on cars, on highway overpasses, and at places of business. His father is a veteran, Keith Maupin; his brother, Lance Corporal Micah Maupin, is a Marine stationed in Miramar, California, currently. Specialist Maupin comes from a family that strongly supports the military and strongly supports our military families.”