| 00:00:00 | HE SAVED A YOUNG AFGHAN CHILD WHO HAD CRAWLED UNDERNEATH A MOVING ARMORED VEHICLE IN ORDER TO COLLECT A BRASS SHELL CASING. |
| 00:00:08 | RESPONDING QUICKLY, THE SERGEANT MOVED THE CHILD TO SAFETY, EVEN THOUGH DOING SO PLACED HIM IN THE PATH OF THE SAME ARMORED VEHICLE AND TOOK HIS LIFE. |
| 00:00:17 | THE SERGEANT IS AN AMERICAN HERO WHO GAVE HIS LIFE TO PROTECT A CHILD HE DID NOT EVEN KNOW. |
| 00:00:23 | RHODE ISLANDERS ARE OFTEN REMINDED THAT WE COME FROM A SMALL STATE IN THE UNION. |
| 00:00:26 | BUT TODAY THE SERGEANT'S ACTIONS HAVE TOUCHED OUR ENTIRE NATION AND OUR EXAMPLE OF THE SACRIFICES MADE EVERY DAY BY OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM. |
| 00:00:36 | MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO HIS MOTHER, LINDA, HIS FATHER, DENNIS SR. |
| 00:00:41 | , HIS FIANCE, ASHLEY, AND HIS THREE CHILDREN. |
| 00:00:44 | I YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. |
| 00:00:46 | THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN YIELDS BACK THE BALANCE OF HIS TIME. |
| 00:00:49 | FOR WHAT PURPOSE DOES THE GENTLEMAN FROM GEORGIA RISE? |
| 00:00:51 | >> I ASK UNANIMOUS CONSENT TO ADDRESS THE HOUSE FOR |
Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Sergeant Dennis Weichel, Jr., of the Rhode Island National Guard. Last month, while serving our country in Afghanistan, Sergeant Weichel saved a young Afghan child who had crawled underneath a moving armored vehicle in order to collect a brass shell casing. Responding quickly, Sergeant Weichel moved the child to safety, even though doing so placed him in the path of the same armored vehicle and took his life. Sergeant Weichel is an American hero who gave his life to protect a child he did not even know.
Rhode Islanders are often reminded that we come from the smallest State in the Union, but today, Sergeant Dennis Weichel's actions have touched our entire Nation and are an example of the sacrifices made every day by our brave men and women in uniform.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his mother, Linda; his father Dennis, Sr.; his fiancee, Ashley; and his three children.
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