Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo issued the following statement today, honoring the two CNMI soldiers that were killed in Iraq Sunday in a roadside bombing.

“The deaths of Derence Jack and Wilgene Lieto bring the war against Iraq that much closer to home. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these soldiers. We owe a debt of gratitude to these fallen men and to their families. May God bless them and may God bless our country,” Bordallo stated.

Jack and Lieto were with Company E, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry headquartered in Guam. Both men were assigned to the Company’s platoons in Saipan. The battalion, knows as the “Go For Broke Battalion” has soldiers from Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and Saipan.

Sunday’s casualties bring the total of deaths in Iraq from the Micronesian region to ten.

“With the privilege of freedom comes the responsibility of defending that freedom when called to duty,” Bordallo added. “These men will be remembered alongside other American servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.” Bordallo concluded.

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Contact: Alicia Chon in Washington, D.C. at (202) 225-1188 or Joseph Duenas in Guam at (671) 477-4272/4.