HON. JOE WILSON
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following remarks from Mrs. Ann Hampton, who recently traveled to the Kurdish Region of Iraq. She is the proud Gold Star Mother of Captain Kimberly Hampton, who was killed in action on January 2, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq.
“My recent trip to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was everything I hoped it would be, and more! Traveling with another gold star mom and dad, a medically retired soldier, and the founder of the Friends of Kurdistan Foundation, the visit was filled with welcome events. We met several Kurdistan Regional Government officials, who all willingly gave us their undivided attention and treated us graciously. We were told over and over that their nation is our nation, their homes, our homes, and that we share the bonds of friendship forever. Their deep appreciation to the United States for liberating them from Saddam’s tyrant regime knows no end. They said thanks.
“We visited hospitals, clinics, and villages in Kurdistan where progress is being made just as there are still hurdles ahead. We visited homes and were welcomed with open arms. We visited the home of a widow who lost 20 family members in one of the regime’s chemical attacks. She fed us cantaloupe, bread and water, almost all she had. We visited a camp and were fed peaches and water, almost all they had.
“One very important thing Kurds and other Iraqis do have now is hope; hope for peace, security and maybe one day, prosperity. There was significant construction across Iraqi Kurdistan, which is a good sign that people have risen and taken charge of their freedoms, and serve also as role models to peoples in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit Kurdistan, and hope to go back again to continue my humanitarian work. Seeing and hearing the appreciation of the Kurdish people for the U.S. has made a tremendous impact on my healing, as a proud mother of an American soldier, Kimberly, killed in action liberating Iraq. The only way to move forward is by strengthening people-to-people links between Americans and Iraqis, in and out of government. The people of Kurdistan extended their hand to me, and I am grateful.”
As the co-chairman of the Kurdish Regional Congressional Caucus I have visited the Region, and my oldest son led an Army National Guard convoy through the Region. We share the optimism of Mrs. Hampton that the liberated Kurdish Region of Iraq has a bright future of peace, security, and prosperity as a friend of America.