On the recordApril 14, 2011
I rise today to pay tribute to SPC Dennis ``Danny'' Poulin, a Rhode Islander who served in the Massachusetts National Guard. On March 28, Specialist Poulin was a gunner in an MRAP when it rolled over in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. He was medically evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where, tragically, he died 2 days later but surrounded by his loving family. He was laid to rest today in Rhode Island. Specialist Poulin grew up in Pawtucket, RI, and graduated in 2004 from Tolman High School. He joined the National Guard in 2008 and was promoted to specialist in May of 2010. As a member of the Massachusetts National Guard Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, he deployed to Afghanistan in July 2010. Each generation of Americans is called upon to protect and sustain our democracy. And there are no greater heroes than the men and women who have worn the uniform of this Nation and who have sacrificed for this country to keep it safe and to keep it free. It is our duty to protect the freedom they sacrificed their lives for through our service, our citizenship. We must continue to keep their memories alive and honor their heroism. Today, our thoughts are with Specialist Poulin's mother Doris, his father Richard, his sisters, Jennifer and Angelique, his longtime girlfriend Ashley and their son Nikolous, and all of his family, friends, and his comrades-in-arms.…





