Tribute to Private First Class Marquis Antoine Whitaker

TRIBUTE TO PRIVATE FIRST CLASS MARQUIS ANTOINE WHITAKER -- (Extensions of Remarks - May 05, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.
OF GEORGIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2004

Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay special tribute to one of our nation's many heroes, Army Pfc. Marquis Antoine Whitaker. Pfc. Whitaker lost his life April 27 while serving his country in Iraq. He was only twenty years old.

A beloved son and brother, a proud American and a devoted Christian, Marquis loved football, music, his GMC Jimmy and his girlfriend, Tarai, who misses him very much. He graduated from Kendrick High School in 2002 and joined the Army only months later, to give back to his country and put his career on a responsible path.

He began basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and eventually became a motor transport operator assigned to the Regimental Headquarters Troop, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Pfc. Whitaker was deployed to Iraq in July 2003. Although his family expected him home April 14, his tour was extended due to the increase in insurgent activity in Iraq. Two weeks later a truck crashed into the back of his Humvee, pushing it partially over the side of a bridge. Marquis Whitaker fell while attempting to climb to safety.

Pfc. Whitaker joins 756 American troops who have given their lives to bring freedom to the people of Iraq. We mourn their loss and the promise of their futures, like that of Marquis, were cut all too short.

Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, I ask you to join me in honoring Pfc. Marquis Whitaker. I promise his mother Jacqueline, his father Anthony, his five sisters and two brothers that Marquis will forever remain a hero in the eyes of his country and that we will never forget the sacrifice he made in the name of freedom and democracy.

END