Ted Poe: “Halfway around the world, in the desert of the sun and the valley of the gun, the American warrior stands fighting the…”

“Halfway around the world, in the desert of the sun and the valley of the gun, the American warrior stands fighting the forces of the enemy. But one such soldier returns from battle to America with a flag- draped coffin. He is Cody Norris, Army private first class, a machine gunner in the infantry, just 20 years old, barely an adult, but still an all-American man. For the Norris family in La Porte, Texas, Cody was a son and a little brother. He died in a gun battle last week in Afghanistan for our country. He was the 38th warrior in my area of Texas to give his life for his country. Cody grew up in La Porte. He graduated from La Porte High School just last year, but he quickly volunteered for the United States Army in October. In high school, Cody loved to restore old military trucks. He restored a 1952 Dodge M-37 Army truck and drove it to school. He was a member of the Junior ROTC Color Guard at La Porte High School. But this year, his former classmates and peers in the Color Guard honored his life. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, before deploying to Afghanistan. It was his first deployment in Afghanistan. October 1 marked his 1-year anniversary in the United States Army. Cody was killed in Kandahar province last week on November 9 when the enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire.…”