WHEREAS, Men and women of the United States Armed Forces have been
protecting our country since its inception; and
WHEREAS, Operation Enduring Freedom, which began in October 2001 in
Afghanistan against the Taliban, has claimed the lives of 370 United
States service members; and
WHEREAS, Nine servicemen from Washington state have been killed
while deployed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Philippines: Sgt.
Nathan Paul Hays from Wilbur; Staff Sgt. Juan Miguel Ridout from Oak
Harbor; Spc. Harley D.R. Miller from Spokane; Chief Warrant Officer 2nd
Class Clint Jeffrey Prather from Cheney; Staff Sgt. Travis Wayne Nixon
from Parsons; 1st Lt. Forrest Pinkerton Ewens from Gig Harbor; Spec.
Thomas F. Allison from Tacoma; Sgt. Jay A. Blessing from Tacoma; and
Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman from Puyallup; and
WHEREAS, The war in Iraq has taken the lives of 3,216 United States
service members in Iraq and Kuwait since March 2003; and
WHEREAS, 65 of those fallen servicemen and women called Washington
their home: 1st Lt. Michael Robert Adams from Seattle; Sgt. Corey
James Aultz from Port Orchard; Spec. Ryan M. Bell from Colville; Spc.
Robert Theodore Benson from Spokane; Staff Sgt. Marvin Leslie Best from
Prosser; Cpl. Joseph Phillip Bier from Centralia; Spec. Joshua M. Boyd
from Seattle; Lance Cpl. Cedric Eugene Bruns from Vancouver; Staff Sgt.
Christopher Bunda from Bremerton; Staff Sgt. Michael Lee Burbank from
Bremerton; Pfc. Cody Shea Calavan from Lake Stevens; 1st Lt. Jamie Lynn
Campbell from Ephrata; Lance Cpl. Daniel Chavez from Seattle; Petty
Officer 1st Class Regina R. Clark from Centralia; 1st Lt. Benjamin
Joseph Colgan from Kent; Sgt. Jason Chesley Cook from Malott; Staff
Sgt. Casey J. Crate from Spanaway; Sgt. Jacob Henry Demand from
Palouse; Spc. Christopher Wayne Dickinson from Seattle; Spc. Blain
Matthew Ebert from Washtucna; Lance Cpl. Adam Quitugua Emul from
Vancouver; Sgt. Damien T. Ficek from Pullman; Lance Cpl. Kane Michael
Funke from Vancouver; Sgt. Mickel Davied Garrigus from Elma; Pfc. Devon
James Gibbons from Port Orchard; Pfc. Jason Hanson from Forks; Spc.
Justin William Hebert from Arlington; Sgt. Jacob Robert Herring from
Kirkland; Spc. Jordan William Hess from Marysville; Maj. Alan Ricardo
Johnson from Yakima; Cpl. Jeremiah Jewel Johnson from Vancouver; Sgt.
Curt Edward Jordan Jr. from Greenacres; Spc. Eric Dean King from
Vancouver; Sgt. 1st Class Steven Michael Langmack from Seattle; Sgt.
Velton Locklear III from Lacey; Pfc. Duane E. Longstreth from Tacoma;
Sgt. Charles E. Matheny IV from Stanwood; Maj. Megan Malia McClung from
Coupeville; Staff Sgt. Tracey Lee Melvin from Seattle; Cpl. Darrel
James Morris from Spokane Valley; Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence Emerson
Morrison from Yakima; Master Sgt. Robb Gordon Needham from Vancouver;
Sgt. Juston Dean Norton from Rainier; Staff Sgt. Ronald Lee Paulsen
from Vancouver; Sgt. Travis Dwight Pfister from Richland; Lance Cpl.
Caleb John Powers from Mansfield; Spc. David Joseph Ramsey from Tacoma;
Capt. Gregory Alm Ratzlaff from Olympia; Sgt. Yadir Gumercindo Reynoso
from Wapato; Sgt. James Daniel Riekena from Redmond; Staff Sgt. David
George Ries from Vancouver; Cpl. Steven Arnold Rintamaki from Lynnwood;
Cpl. Jonathan Jose Santos from Bellingham; Spc. Jeremiah Wesley Schmunk
from Richland; Pfc. Kerry David Scott from Concrete; Sgt. Jeffrey Ross
Shaver from Maple Valley; Lance Cpl. Dustin Lee Sides from Yakima; Cpl.
Jeffrey Brian Starr from Snohomish; Lance Cpl. Shane Clanin Swanberg
from Kirkland; Staff Sgt. Abraham George Twitchell from Yelm; Staff
Sgt. Christopher Jon Vanderhorn from Pierce County; Pfc. Andrew Martin
Ward from Kirkland; Sgt. Lucas Timothy White from Moses Lake; Lance
Cpl. Nathan Raymond Wood from Kirkland; and Spc. Curtis Lorenza Wooten
III from Spanaway; and
WHEREAS, These men and women who died serving our nation leave
family and friends in Washington mourning their loss;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the members of the Washington
State House of Representatives honor the fallen servicemen and women
who gave their lives for this country with courage, self-sacrifice, and
patriotic devotion; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of
Representatives extend appreciation and solace to the families of the
servicemen and women who died fighting for this great nation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be
immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of
Representatives to the families of the aforementioned servicemen and
women, and to the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, National
Guard, Navy, and the Marine Corps.