Honoring our Armed Forces - Staff Sergeant Robert S. Doughty
HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES -- (Senate - December 07, 2004)
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STAFF SERGEANT ROBERT S. DOUGHTY
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a Kentucky hero, SSG Robert S. Doughty. Sergeant Doughty, an 11-year-veteran of the U.S. Army and from Paducah, KY, went to Iraq last spring as a member of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. On July 8, 2004, Sergeant Doughty was riding in the passenger seat of a Humvee deep in the Sunni Triangle. His team's mission was to deliver laptop computers and a new vehicle to another Special Forces team. They didn't make it.
A 155mm-mortar struck Sergeant Doughty's vehicle. Shrapnel tore through both of his legs. Two medics began treating him immediately, and Sergeant Doughty believes they saved his life by preventing him from bleeding to death. He was rushed by helicopter to a surgical hospital in Balad, Iraq, then to Germany, and finally to Walter Reed Army Medical Center here in the Nation's Capital. Doctors were able to save his life, but not his legs.
Sergeant Doughty's incredible courage has not diminished one iota since that July day. Two months to the day of that vicious attack, he stood for the first time on two prosthetic legs. Since then, he has graduated from using a walker to crutches to canes, and intends to walk without difficulty by Christmas. I have no doubt he will succeed.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sergeant Doughty and his family in my office on September 9. I told him how grateful America is for his service to our country. This amazing man has not let his injury hamper his love for his country, her military, or the cause of freedom and justice we fight for in Iraq. If he could, he would go back. He serves as a model of heroism to us all.
Today I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring SSG Robert S. Doughty for his supreme valor. My prayers, and those of millions of grateful Americans, are with him as he recovers from his injuries. With other fine men and women like him in our Armed Forces, we are sure to succeed as we continue ridding the newly liberated Iraq of the terrorists trying to drive that country back into the hands of tyranny.
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