Honoring Our Armed Forces

Floor Speech

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Mr. Ben NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Army SGT Michael P. Scusa, who lost his life as the result of an attack in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, on October 3, 2009.

As a child in Crete, NE, Michael Scusa had his sights set on a military career. He joined the U.S. Army in 2005, immediately following his high school graduation in Villas, NJ, where he had been living with his mother. After basic training in Kentucky, Scusa was assigned to Fort Carson, CO.

While stationed at Fort Carson, Sergeant Scusa met his wife Alyssa. She describes her husband as a man with a wonderful sense of humor who always brightened other people's spirits. He never complained and always wore a smile. The two had been married for 2 years and had a son Connor, named after one of Scusa's close friends who was also killed while serving his country. Scusa was deployed to Afghanistan when Connor was just 8 months old.

Sergeant Scusa had been in Afghanistan for 5 months and was on his second tour overseas, having deployed to Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007. He and seven other soldiers out of Fort Carson, all of the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, were killed in combat while bravely defending their outpost against a coordinated attack by hundreds of insurgents in the mountainous Nuristan Provence. Over the course of his service, Sergeant Scusa received an array of honors and awards, including a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Army Good Conduct Medal; and he was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant.

Upon his wishes, Sergeant Scusa has been laid to rest in Colorado in order to be near his wife and son. He also leaves behind his mother Cindy; father and stepmother George and Kelley; sisters Susan and Kami; brothers John and Jimmy; and numerous other family members and friends.

Sergeant Scusa passed away making the ultimate and most valiant sacrifice. My condolences and prayers go out to his family and friends. His heroism and selflessness will remain an inspiration for all of us.

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