Congressman Neugebauer Leads Moment of Silence on House Floor to Honor Fallen Dyess Airmen

Today I delivered the following remarks before leading a moment of silence on the House floor to honor the six U.S. service members—including four Dyess Airmen—and five civilians who were killed in the recent plane crash in Afghanistan:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart. Six Airmen assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing perished on Friday, October 2, 2015 when their C-130J aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan. Five civilians also died in the crash.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Today, we honor the sacrifice of these Airmen, who served at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas and Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts.

They are:

Capt. Jordan Pierson, 28, of Abilene, Texas who I had the honor of nominating for the Air Force Academy when he was a high school student in Lubbock, Texas.

Capt. Jonathan Golden, 33, of Camarillo, California.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Hammond, 26, of Moundsville, West Virginia.

Senior Airman Quinn Johnson-Harris, 21, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Senior Airman Nathan Sartain, 29, of Pensacola, Florida.

Airman 1st Class Kcey Ruiz, 21, of McDonough, Georgia.

I ask that you join me and my colleagues in a moment of silence to honor those who serve.