Remembering A South Carolina Hero, Thomas Caughman

REMEMBERING A SOUTH CAROLINA HERO, THOMAS CAUGHMAN -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 25, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. JOE WILSON
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2004

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on June 9th, one of Lexington, South Carolina's most beloved sons, Army Specialist Thomas Caughman, was lost, when he was killed in a terrorist attack while serving in Iraq.
As Thomas wrote from the field in Iraq, "freedom isn't free." Sadly, his family, friends and fellow South Carolinians have learned this lesson in a painful and personal way. Thomas Caughman was the son of proud parents Hampton and Jane Caughman of Lexington, South Carolina.

Thomas will forever be an American hero for defending the American people in the War on Terror. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in extending our deepest regrets to the family of Thomas Caughman, and the entire Wilson family sends their thoughts and prayers.

I request that the following article from The State newspaper be placed into the RECORD, in remembrance of the fallen hero.[From the State, June 19, 2004]

WAR IN IRAQ: LEXINGTON BIDS FAREWELL TO A FALLEN HERO

(By Chuck Crumbo)

When he wrote home, Army Spc. Thomas Caughman would close his letters with these words: "Freedom isn't free."

On Friday, family and friends honored the 20-year-old Lexington County soldier who paid the ultimate price.

About 1,000 crowded into the pews and lined the walls of Red Bank Baptist Church, and another 200 to 300 waited outside in the sweltering heat, as Caughman was remembered as a joyful and religious young man who made others around him feel special and loved.

A large crowd was expected. Caughman was a member of one of Lexington County's best-known families, with ties to banking, retailing and the religious community.

Nearly an hour before the service, traffic was backed up a quarter of a mile on S.C. 6, which runs past the church in the
heart of the Red Bank community. After the church parking lot filled up, some mourners had to park across the street in the lot of St. James Lutheran Church.

The turnout would have delighted Caughman, said the soldier's uncle, Glenn Day, who offered personal remarks during the service.

"If he could say something to me right now and come up and do that little backhand on your chest ..... he'd say, 'Look at that crowd I got for you,' " Day said to laughter.

Caughman, a 2002 graduate of Lexington High School, died June 9 while patrolling a Baghdad neighborhood for
bombs used to attack U.S. troops.

The Army said Caughman's armored vehicle was struck by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. Two other soldiers in his vehicle also were wounded seriously.

Caughman was assigned to Army Reserve Company C of the 291st Engineer Battalion, based in Spartanburg. He transferred to a Pennsylvania combat engineer unit when it was called up for active duty.

Caughman is the first fatality of the Iraqi war from Lexington County and the 21st member of the armed services with ties to South Carolina to die in the conflict.

Friday's service was a mix of sweet sentiment-about a son, brother, nephew, cousin and soldier-and a dose of unabashed patriotism.

Just after the service started, the Rev. Robert "Butch" Powell asked mourners to salute some 60 members of the U.S. military who attended the funeral, including four dozen members of Caughman's Reserve unit.

Led by the fallen soldier's parents, Hampton and Jane Caughman, mourners stood and offered a thunderous ovation that lasted for 40 seconds.

Later, pictures of Caughman flashed on a screen at the front of the church while country singer Toby Keith's recording of "American Soldier" was played over the public address system.

The pictures covered Caughman's life from toddler to soldier.

There were shots of Caughman as a child at birthday parties, pedaling his red tractor, riding horseback, playing youth
league baseball and fishing at the family pond.

There also were pictures of Caughman at his high school graduation flanked by his parents, shots of him and his
buddies posing with a buck they had bagged, and images of him in his Army desert togs at the wheel of a Humvee.

Caughman's parents said he loved children and especially relished the time he could spend with his cousins at family
outings.

One of those cousins, 6-year-old Hannah Frye, honored Caughman by standing before the packed church and
flawlessly singing Lee Greenwood's patriotic hit, "God Bless the USA." During the service, Day often referred to his
nephew's ever-present smile.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see that smile and that smile tells you a lot about a man's spirit," Day said. "I take great
pride in being Thomas Caughman's uncle."

The Rev. Powell recalled one of his last conversations with Caughman, before the soldier headed for Iraq. Caughman
believed it was his responsibility to fight for the freedom that his family, friends and fellow Americans enjoy, Powell
said.

"He told me, 'I'm not married, I don't have any kids. I'm going for those who can't. I'm going because it's right,' "
Powell said.

Referring to Caughman's writing "freedom isn't free" in his letters, Powell said, "there is a cost to be paid for freedom
and he willingly paid that cost.

"Thomas Caughman was a hero, and so are the others who are still over there. Don't forget them in your prayers."

After the service, mourners filed outside to the church cemetery, where Caughman was laid to rest in a family plot near
his grandfather, Raymond B. Day, the church's pastor for 36 years. Caughman received full military honors and was
awarded posthumously the Bronze Star for meritorious service and the Purple Heart.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Bryson, deputy commander of the 81st Regional Readiness Command, presented the U.S. flag that
draped Caughman's casket to the soldier's parents.

And then, after a final prayer, Hampton and Jane Caughman rose from their seats, stepped to their son's casket and
gently patted and rubbed it.

Caughman's 17-year-old sister, Lisa, and his girlfriend, Lindsey Hendrix, followed. Each laid a rose on top of the
casket and gave it a soft kiss.

Before the service, Toyanna Frye, who is married to one of the soldier's cousins, talked about Caughman's desire to
serve and how he touched others' lives.

"It makes you look at your life and how we need to serve others," Frye said. "I imagine that it was a wonderful day in
heaven when he came home."