WHEREAS, Men and women of the United States Armed Forces have been protecting our country since its inception; and
     WHEREAS, The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, gave rise to a new type of war; and
     WHEREAS, Operation Enduring Freedom, which began in October 2001 in Afghanistan against the Taliban, has claimed the lives of 374 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 on Terror expanded to include Iraq with the launch of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in March 2003; and
     WHEREAS, This operation has taken the lives of 3,279 United States service members in Iraq and Kuwait; and
     WHEREAS, 67 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; Chief Petty Officer Gregory J. Billiter from Oak Harbor; 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; Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph Adam McSween from Oak Harbor; 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 defending our nation leave family and friends in Washington mourning their loss;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the members of the Washington State Senate 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 Senate 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 Secretary of the Senate to members of the Washington State Senate, 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.