Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it is with heartfelt sadness that I note the recent passing of Mr. Michael Edward Perkins, a well known athlete and martial arts expert from Saraland, Alabama.

Michael Perkins passed away May 14, 2011, after fighting a constant battle with cystic fibrosis since infancy. He was only 27.

He was known around the community as a devoted and inspiring husband to his wife, Kellee Jones Perkins, and a proud father to their infant daughter, Piper Catherine.

Michael will be remembered in so many ways. Not only did he love being outdoors and enjoying other recreational activities, he received a Black Belt in two different martial arts.

He also donated much time helping teach children at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, and will be remembered as an encouraging, buoyant young man. Everyone who knew Michael has an inspiring or humorous story they can retell.

Even when Michael was extremely ill, he never let his own problems affect his otherwise positive outlook on life and he was always bending over backwards for family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, all who knew Michael personally will surely miss him, and South Alabama has truly lost a beloved member of the community. Michael Perkins was inspiration to young and old alike.

On behalf of the people of South Alabama, I would like to extend my condolences to his wife, Kellee, and their daughter, Piper Catherine, for their loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise to commend Honor Flight South Alabama and the 89 World War II veterans this very special organization is bringing to Washington, D.C., on May 4, 2011.

Founded by the South Alabama Veterans Council, Honor Flight South Alabama is an organization whose mission is to fly heroes from Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Covington, and Escambia counties in Alabama to see their national memorial.

Over six decades have passed since the end of World War II and, regrettably, it took nearly this long to complete work on the memorial that honors the spirit and sacrifice of the 16 million who served in the U.S. armed forces and the more than 400,000 who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Sadly, many veterans did not live long enough to hear their country say ``thank you'' yet, for those veterans still living, Honor Flight provides for many their first--and perhaps only--opportunity to see the National World War II Memorial, which honors their service and sacrifice.

This Honor Flight begins at dawn when the veterans will gather at historic Fort Whiting in Mobile and travel to Mobile Regional Airport to board a US Airways flight to Washington. During their time in their nation's capital, the veterans will visit the World War II Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and other memorials.

The veterans will return to Mobile Regional Airport Wednesday evening, where a very large crowd of family and friends are expected to greet them.

Mr. Speaker, Wednesday's journey of 89 heroes from South Alabama is an appropriate time for us to pause and thank them--and all of our military who fought in World War II--for they collectively and literally saved the world. They personify the very best America has to offer, and I urge my colleagues to take a moment to pay tribute to their selfless devotion to our country and the freedom we enjoy.

I salute each of the 89 veterans who made the trip on May 4, 2011. May we never forget their valiant deeds and tremendous sacrifices: Clavis Akridge, Mary Balch, Herbert Barnhart, Harry Bennitt, Nathan Beverly, Blake Blakeney, Jim Botts, Sr., Robert Bryant, Howard Carney, Sr., Harold Childers, Charles Christie, Dale Crittenden, Arthur Days, Jr., Donald Delmarter, Gerald Devuyst, William, Duffy, Sr., John Elliott, Hardy Eubanks, Osburn Flener, Delbert Ganson, Albert Garrett, James Glisson, George Grant, Bobbie Gwin, James Hathcock, Jr., Allen Honeycutt, Andrew Jackson, Jordan Jackson, Ralph Jackson, Weyman Jobe, Ben Johnson, Henry Jones, Emory Jones, Mathew Kautzer, Robert Killam, Kenneth Kollar, Joseph Kress, William Krist, William Lauten, John Loper, Reginald Loper, Charles Loury, James Maupin, Bruce Maynard, Perry McClure, Bryant McDonald, Jr., Glenn Merrill, Robert Middleton, John Mobley, Tristam Mock, James Mullineaux, Albert Murrell, William Nanney, Jr., James Nettles, John Nettles, Jr., Ronald O'Donnell, John Odom, Morgan Odom, Curtis Outlaw, Sr., John Overbeck, Oliver Palanjian, Orin Parker, Jr., William Patterson, Hurshel Paul, Webster Pedersen, Peter Richardson, Tom Robertson, Albert Roll, Jr., Joe Salzmann, Norman Sannes, Frank Schneider, Louis Spadaro, Lamar Stapleton, Bernie Steele, Rene Stiegler, Jr., Orrin Strickler, Floyd Stringfellow, Irvine Tucker, Waid Turner, Donald VanBeek, James Walker, Sr., Eldred Ward, Jr., Hugh Wiggins, Lewis Wilder, Frederick Witzel, Vernon Woodcock, Robert Yearty, Joseph Zulofsky, and Eldred Latham.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to one of my home state's success stories. I wish to congratulate Alabama's Cooperative Extension Service on Home Economics as it celebrates 100 years of serving the people with valuable economic and nutrition education.

The Alabama Extension Service has its origins in Walker and Pike counties in 1911 when two part-time home agents with a budget of $300 enrolled 240 girls in popular Girl's Tomato Clubs where they were taught to grow tomatoes and can them.

In 1914, the program was made a part of the land grant college system, giving instructions and demonstrations to persons not enrolled in colleges or universities.

Through the years, many of the Alabama Extension Home Economics programs have been innovative and successful, capturing the attention of other states which have replicated them. These include Master Money Manager, expanded food and nutrition education, Parents Encouraging Parents and Project HELP.

During World Wars I and II, the Alabama Extension Home Economics programs provided valuable instruction in substituting rationed food items, supervised canning centers, salvaging scrap metal and rubber, and selling war bonds.

Today, such home economics programs range from family life, nutrition and health, clothing, housing and family resource management, and are constantly updated to meet new challenges, serve expanding and new audiences, and responding to local problems and opportunities.

The Alabama Extension Home Economics programs have paralleled the history of our country and state for the last 100 years. Through boom times and bust, the program has met the needs of Alabama homemakers and families.

I join with my fellow Alabamians in thanking the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service on Home Economics for its many valuable contributions to our state and I congratulate the program on its 100th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, in my home state of Alabama, we know something about winning football, and there is one fact we don't dispute. Behind every winning team is a great coach. The success of the City of Mobile is due in no small measure to the tireless efforts of our own ``coach'' and my dear friend, Mike Gottfried. I'm especially proud to note that Coach Mike Gottfried is being honored on April 7, 2011, with a most deserving honor, 2010 Mobilian of the Year.

Many Americans may recognize Mike Gottfried as a long-time ESPN sports analyst who covered both college and NFL football for nearly two decades on prime time television. A fixture on the cable network's Thursday Night Game of the Week and College Football Thursday Night, not to mention ESPN's NFL draft coverage, Mike was particularly compelling as a voice for character as well as athletic achievement.

An Ohio native, Mike was quarterback at Morehead State University from 1962 to 1965. Upon graduation in 1966, he proceeded to coach high school football in Ohio before embarking on a distinguished college coaching career that took him to Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh. During his four years at Pittsburgh, Mike earned a 26-17-2 record, including wins over rivals Notre Dame, Penn State and West Virginia.

Mobile was fortunate when Mike moved to our city in 1990 and became an active member of our community. A member of the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, Mike is credited with helping to establish the GMAC Bowl--now the GoDaddy.com Bowl--in Alabama's port city.

Mike may be a giant on gridiron, but he stands even taller in the lives of hundreds of young men who grew up without fathers. In 2000, Mike founded Team Focus, an organization which has enabled hundreds of single parent children to advance their education in an environment in which they are ``motivated, encouraged, and challenged.''

He is the co-author of Coach's Challenge: Faith, Football, and Filling the Father Gap, written with Ron Benson in 2007.

A nationally sought-after motivational speaker and supporter of youth programs, Mike partnered with First Lady Laura Bush in promoting her Helping America's Youth (HAY program), benefitting at-risk students. For over ten years, Mike and his wife, Mickey, have also led fundraising efforts for L'Arche, a Christian community for people with intellectual disabilities, raising more and a half millions dollars. Mike and his wife are also the recipients of the 2010 FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for their community outreach work with Team Focus.

Mike's selfless record of service to disadvantaged youth and his uncommon devotion to our community, have certainly earned him the honor of 2010 Mobilian of the Year.

On behalf of the people of South Alabama, I congratulate Mike on receiving this award and I extend a personal thank you to Mike and his wonder wife and partner, Mickey, for all they continue to do for our community and our country.

I thank the chairman, and I urge my colleagues to support this continuing resolution, as unpleasant as it is.

Our Democrat colleagues, our Republican colleagues, we agree; we don't like being in the situation that we're in, but we're in the situation nevertheless. Our colleagues remember that for the first time since 1974, we didn't pass a budget last year. We didn't pass a single appropriation bill, as the chairman of the committee has noted. We don't like being in this situation, but we're in this situation. And yet I think there's a real disconnect between Washington and the American people.

I was listening to the television news that Sunday when Senator Kyl put the budget debate in perspective. While rarely do House Members quote Senators, I think it's worth it. We talk about trillions and billions and millions, but if you had a $10,000 budget, which most Americans can more easily identify with, and 40 percent of that is actually borrowed money, then what we're talking about with H.R. 1, which is the basis upon which this CR is going forward, we'd be shaving off $28 from a $10,000 budget.

Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen, the reason that Congress has continued to draw such unpopular respect with the American people is that there is a disconnect. Last year, we had a $223 billion deficit; the largest in the history. We're talking about shaving $6 billion until we can get a resolution between the House and the Senate and encourage the White House to join the mix.

I thank the chairman for allowing me to speak out, and I encourage our colleagues to support this CR.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the remarkable example and service of a true leader in South Alabama, someone who has taken the roles of successful businessman, trusted medical adviser, and local and national civic leader for more than 30 years.

In 2012, Mayor Ted Jennings of Brewton, Alabama, will end nearly a quarter century of service as his town's chief executive.

For many, this accomplishment alone would be the epitome of a life's work. And, indeed, Mayor Jennings has confidently guided his community for four terms.

But Ted's body of accomplishments does not begin nor end with holding public office.

A graduate of Auburn University's School of Pharmacy, a successful business owner and Director of Pharmacy at D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital, Mayor Jennings has also made an indelible mark through his compassion and devotion to the well-being of his community. And his contributions don't stop there.

While Ted Jennings may be known to the people of Brewton as their long-time mayor and trusted pharmacist, to his colleagues in Alabama and across America, he is an indispensible resource of wisdom and experience.

A former member of the board of the National League of Cities, Mayor Jennings has held about every post one can within that important national organization, tirelessly defending the principles of good government at forums around the country. In Alabama, Mayor Jennings has also led his peers as president and long-time officer in the Alabama League of Municipalities where he has been a strong, steady voice for issues vital to local and state economic development.

A man gifted with a vision for our nation's--and region's--economic future, Mayor Jennings has for decades promoted the development of telecommunications on the local and state level, leveraging the resources of businesses and universities.

A supporter of both electronic and paved highways, Mayor Jennings also helped establish the Florida-Alabama Strategic Task Force to improve transportation between the two states to enhance both public safety and economic growth.

I have had the pleasure of working with Mayor Jennings for more than two decades and I can say, without hesitation, that his devotion to public service is without equal. I was fortunate to be a co-chair on the Alabama Rural Action Committee with Mayor Jennings, and I believe there is a no more passionate and informed voice for rural economic development than his.

As Mayor Jennings steps off the stage from a remarkable civic career, I know he will continue to have a positive impact on his community and state. To his family and close friends who have shared Ted with us for all these years, we offer our heartfelt thanks. And to the Mayor, himself, I am privileged to speak for all of South Alabama in offering our heartfelt thanks to a true servant leader, a real partner for progress and a man who leaves behind a legacy of goodness as well as success.

Thanks, Mayor Jennings, for a job well done.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask that this poem by Albert Carey Caswell, commemorating the historic address by Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia, be placed in the Congressional Record in honor of the great friendship between our two countries.

Across the Great Oceans

Across the great oceans

Over the deep blue seas

And all of the most distant shores

And throughout the miles we see

But lies . . .

But lies, such a great love, a bond between America and

Australia so indeed!

For when we look into the mirror, a mirror image we so see

For we are so much alike, are but you, are but so you and me

As such a great bond, so very special across those seas

So very strong, so very deep

That even time and distance, cannot so destroy.

As is such a great bond between Australia and America,

That our hearts of love have so received

For we are such fine friends, so are all of we!

And throughout the generations, and throughout all of those

wars

All throughout all of those dark storms

As we have so stood together, as one, as one have all of we!

As throughout all of those dreadful wars

As we have sent our fine son and daughters, off together, off

to die, off to death and war

And `Oh, what a burden bore!

To lose all of our most precious loves, that which we have

all so adored!

All of those tears, those heart broken tears, that together

we have so poured!

As all together we've so stood, so stood throughout the

generations as one so for very sure!

For Down Under, no greater loves adorned!

Then, that bond between Australia and America

From all across those most distant shores

As we even speak the same language, all the more

And on this day, a prayer we say as so sent across those most

distant shores

That this great bond, that this warm love and so friendship,

as will live on for evermore!

And together as one, as out into the future we walk hand in

hand, as we have done before!

`Oh across those great oceans, ``It's a good day'' . . . all

because of our love that we have so poured!

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a patriotic American who loved his country and loved the Lord, and dedicated his life to the service of both.

The Rev. Samuel R. Hardman, Sr. passed away on February 10, 2011, at the age of 85. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he was a lifelong resident of Magnolia Springs, Alabama.

To anyone who knew Father Sam, it was clear he was passionate about America. At the young age of 17, as the world was embroiled in the Second World War, he eagerly enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was commissioned a bomb disposal officer at age 19 and served in the South Pacific as the United States battled the Empire of Japan.

After the war, he returned home to attend the Episcopal Seminary in Sewanee, Tennessee, and was ordained a priest in 1950.

With one war behind him, many would have chosen the more comfortable road of civilian life. Yet, Father Sam elected to take a different path. He chose to serve the Lord while at the same time serving his country. He returned to the Navy as a Chaplain, taking him to battlefronts in Korea and Vietnam. Much of his time in uniform was in the service of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Father Sam retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1975 and moved to Magnolia Springs where he served in the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast for the next 32 years.

Mr. Speaker, Father Sam's uncommon devotion to America and his faith make him a very special man. However, he is all the more special to me as he presided over the marriage ceremony when my wife, Janee, and I were wed on August 15, 1990. We will be forever grateful for his spiritual and fatherly role in our lives and in the lives of countless others who have been parishioners of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mobile.

On behalf of all the people who have been touched by Father Sam's life, I wish to extend condolences to his family, including his sons, William, and Samuel, Jr.; sisters, Alfea Thomas, and Mary Lee; 9 grandchildren; 9 great grandchildren, and a host of nieces and nephews and other relatives. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer tribute to Mr. Leonard Metzger, Jr., a beloved and respected member of the South Alabama business community who recently passed away at the age of 81.

To his many friends, Leonard Metzger was a gentleman, an avid outdoorsman, a devoted businessman and booster of the community.

Born in Mobile in 1929, Mr. Metzger graduated from University Military School, UMS, where he was the 1948 Julius Tutwiler Award recipient. He would later serve on the UMS-Wright Board of Directors for 25 years.

He attended the University of Alabama until he was called home to lead the family clothing business, Metzger's, after the death of his father, Leonard Metzger, Sr.

For three decades, Mr. Metzger guided the store and supervised its expansion. He sold his business interest in the early 1980's and turned his attention to local civic activities, including the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo and the Junior Miss Pageant.

Mr. Metzger loved fishing, duck hunting and telling humorous stories as much as he loved making friends.

His contributions to our community in business and civic activities are many and he will be sorely missed.

On behalf of the people of South Alabama, I wish to extend condolences to Mildred, his wife of 36 years; his son, Leonard ``Lee''; daughters, Nancy, Peggy and Debbie; stepdaughter, Marty; sister, Clare; 6 grandchildren, and extended family and friends. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Winston Francis Groom, a southern gentleman of letters and recipient of the 2011 Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished Writer of the Year.

Winston Groom has brought much credit to our state's literary tradition as both a popular novelist and a renowned author of history. A native of Mobile and the son of a prominent attorney, Winston Groom attended the University of Alabama, where he discovered his true passion for writing. Pursing a degree in English, he served as editor and contributor to university humor and literary magazines.

Like many young men of his time, he would take a detour after college to serve his country in Vietnam, reaching the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army.

His southern heritage and his war time experiences continue to influence both the topics and flavor of his prolific and distinguished writing career.

After his tour of duty in the Vietnam, Winston Groom chose the path of a journalist, laboring for a brief time at the Washington Star, covering the political and court beat. Encouraged by the newspaper's writer-in-residence, Willie Morris, Mr. Groom relocated to New York to make his name in literature.

After publishing his first novel, Better Times. Than These, in 1978, he followed with As Summers Die, in 1980. In 1983, he co-authored with Duncan Spencer Conversations with the Enemy: The Story of PFC Robert Garwood. One year later he published the novel, Only.

His best known work would be published in 1986, but most of the world would not hear about it until eight years later when Hollywood adapted it to the silver screen. After the movie's 1994 release, Mr. Groom's novel, Forrest Gump, sold well over 2.5 million copies and occupied a spot on the New York Times bestseller list for 21 weeks.

The author of 14 books so far, Mr. Groom's other works include Gone the Sun, 1988; Gumpisms: The Wit and Wisdom of Forrest Gump; and, The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cookbook, both in 1994; Gump & Co. in 1995; Forrest Gump: My Favorite Chocolate Recipes: Mama's Fudge, Cookies, Cakes and Candies, also in 1995. Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville: The Last Great Campaign of the Civil War was also published in 1995. Such a Pretty Girl, published in 1999, was followed by The Crimson Tide: An Illustrated History of Football at the University of Alabama, in 2000.

His more recent works include A Storm in Flanders: The Ypres Salient, 1914-1918, in 2002; 1942, The Year That Tried Men's Souls, in 2005; and Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans, in 2007. His latest work, Vicksburg 1863, was published in 2009.

On behalf of the people of Alabama, I wish to congratulate Mr. Groom on the receipt of the 2011 Harper Lee Award, and I join in thanking him for his continued contributions as a great American writer, and wish all the best to him and his lovely wife, Anne-Clinton, and their daughter, Carolina.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise to add my voice in opposition to the amendment offered by my friend from Ohio.

I, too, am a member of the RSC. I think many of the good points that have been made on the House floor during the last few days can be attributed to the good work and the heartfelt convictions of the members of the Republican Study Committee and its long-standing commitment to freedom and liberty. But I believe this approach taken by this amendment is misguided.

Madam Chair, the Appropriations Committee has put before the House a CR that makes significant cuts to all areas of our Federal Government, but these cuts have been made with deliberate intent and after careful consideration. In other words, they have been done surgically, and I believe this amendment would take a more indiscriminate hatchet approach.

The Republican Pledge to America states, ``we will roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone''; but it doesn't say we have to accomplish this task in the first spending bill before us, and it did not envision accomplishing it in the remaining 7 months.

I hope we can defeat this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a longstanding business leader in South Alabama, Mr. William ``Billy'' Lyon, who recently passed away at the age of 80.

A native of Mobile, Mr. Lyon graduated from Murphy High School in 1944 and attended the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina before joining the Navy in 1945, where he served on the USS Chicago. Following the end of the war, he attended Auburn University and the University of North Carolina.

A natural entrepreneur, Mr. Billy became a homebuilder with a lifelong passion for commercial and residential real estate development in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Georgia.

He developed scores of local residential subdivisions, including Brookwood, Blacksher Downs, Tuthill Lane Estates and Carriage Hills, and sold lots to nearly every builder in Mobile. He also partnered and developed numerous commercial shopping centers, including Mobile's Bel Air Mall, which opened in 1966.

He was one of the founding board members of Commercial Guaranty Bank in Mobile, which later became SouthTrust Bank, and also served on the Boards of Bel Air Corporation, Mobile Gas Company, First Southern Federal, Altus Bank, the Drug Education Council, and the Alabama School of Math and Science.

Mr. Billy was the longest active member of the Home Builders Association of Mobile and received the E. L. Jones award in 2002. He witnessed and played a vital role in Mobile for many years, helping countless individuals, bankers, builders, realtors, friends and associates along the way.

On behalf of the people of South Alabama, I extend my condolences to his wife, Patricia; their two sons, BJ and Jimmy; their four daughters, Tricia, Nancy, Victoria and Ashley; nineteen grandchildren and their entire family. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of the House the heroic efforts of a constituent of mine whose quick thinking saved lives during a recent pre-dawn Mobile, Alabama motel fire.

On the early morning of December 21, 2010, John David Mercer, a staff photographer with the Mobile Press-Register, was driving home after shooting the historic lunar eclipse when his eye caught sight of another target. While glancing over at the battleship USS Alabama, a local landmark, Mr. Mercer noticed

thick white smoke billowing from a nearby motel roof. He quickly headed to the building in hopes of capturing some news photos when he realized no one else was aware of the blaze. At that point, he alerted the motel manager, sounded the fire alarm and sprinted upstairs to awake the motel guests. At one point the flames reached 40 feet in the air, yet Mr. Mercer continued to knock on doors.

Fire and police soon arrived and the motel was fully evacuated avoiding any injuries in the fire. The motel owner credited Mr. Mercer with saving lives and helping to prevent further damage to the building.

For his heroic action, Mr. Mercer was presented the Citizen Valor Award by the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department. Additionally, he was given the National Press Photographers Association's Humanitarian Award.

A recent Press-Register editorial honoring Mr. Mercer said it best: ``These days, the title `hero' is tossed about too casually and too often. However, we consider it fitting in this case. John David Mercer is a hero because he got into the game when he didn't have to, and because he placed the welfare of others above his own without being asked.''

Mr. Speaker, I would like to add my voice to those who have praised Mr. Mercer's selfless act on that early December morning. He truly deserves to be called a hero.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Vernon Minton, one of the best friends of Alabama's Gulf Coast recreational and commercial fishermen, who recently passed away at the untimely age of 61. Vern Minton was a major force behind protecting and building Alabama's coastal fisheries and his loss will be sorely felt.

A graduate of Auburn University where he earned a master's degree in biology, Vern Minton began his life's work as a steward of Alabama's coastal fisheries in 1978 at the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. For the next 32 years, Mr. Minton would have increasing impact upon the science and the quality of Alabama's marine life. He assisted in the development of techniques for raising many species of fish and authored papers on raising marine animals in captivity.

By December 1990, Vern Minton was appointed director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation which manages estuaries and saltwater resources along the state's Gulf Coast. He is credited with both the modernization of his department's enforcement methods as well as the creation of the state's inshore and offshore artificial reef programs.

Although Alabama has the smallest seacoast of the Gulf states, fish stocks in our state waters are robust, thanks to the leadership of Vern Minton. As a member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, he was a consistent voice for the need of updated data to accurately calculate red snapper populations and set snapper fishing limits.

On behalf of the people of Alabama and the Gulf Coast who have benefitted from Vern's efforts to enhance and protect our marine life, I wish to extend my condolences to his wife Sharon; their children, Randal and Kristen; grandchild, T.J., and all their family and friends. You are each in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, there is no greater sacrifice one can make for his country than to lay down his life in defense of our freedom. It is with a heavy heart that I inform this House that one of our own from South Alabama, Cpl. Joseph C. Whitehead, recently lost his life in the service of America.

Cpl. Whitehead, a native of Axis, Alabama, was a 2007 graduate of Satsuma High School where he was a talented and versatile player. Upon graduation, he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division II Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Last month, Cpl. Whitehead was conducting combat operations with his fellow Marines in Afghanistan's Helmand province when he encountered an improvised explosive device. According to reports, Cpl. Whitehead was performing a sweep when the IED took his life.

Cpl. Joe Whitehead was not only the embodiment of the Marine, tough and devoted to his comrades and his country, he was known to his family and friends as ``always smiling and loved everyone and everyone loved him.''

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of this House, on behalf of a grateful nation and on behalf of the people of Alabama, I wish to extend heartfelt condolences and support to the family of Cpl. Joe Whitehead including his mother, Melanie Miller; fathers Mark Goodhue and Keith Miller; sister, Jessica Whitehead; brothers Destin Goodhue and Jeffrey Miller; grandparents Roy and Wanda Patrick, Willie Whitehead and Joan Sasser, Jackie Norwood, Devon and Lucille Miller; great grandparents Don and Barbara Johnson; and, his entire family and friends. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.