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Honoring Sergeant Timothy Padgett, United States Army
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| May 16th, 2007 |
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Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Sergeant Timothy Padgett, United States Army. Sergeant Padgett, known as Timmy, gave his life in defense of our nation while serving in Tarin Kwot, Afghanistan on May 8, 2007. Sergeant Padgett was serving as a Green Beret with the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Timmy was raised in DeFuniak Springs, Florida and graduated from Walton High School in 1997. A former firefighter paramedic with the South Walton Fire District, our local paper the Northwest Florida Daily News, reported “A lot of firefighters knew him well, and the close-knit group is taking the news of his death real hard, said Deputy Fire Chief Sean Hughes. ‘He was a great guy,’ Hughes said. Most people knew Padgett by his big smile, which he almost always wore. His fellow firefighters often called him ‘smiling Tim,’ Hughes said.”
Timmy’s mother, Glenda Penton, resides in DeFuniak Springs and has been remarkably steady since her son’s passing. I spoke with Glenda two days after the horrible news and she was gracious and proud of her son. I was so impressed and inspired by her. I don’t know if I could have been the same way so soon after learning of the loss of a loved one.
I am always reminded of the greatness of our country due to the resiliency of people like Glenda Penton and the bravery of people like her son Timmy. We have an all volunteer military and continue to ask our sons and daughters to travel to far away lands to fight for our freedom and these sons and daughters continue to answer the call.
The people of DeFuniak Springs have reason to be proud of Sergeant Padgett, and I am humbled to be able to represent those people, as well as the memory of Sergeant Padgett for am I equally proud. Vicki and I will keep Timmy’s entire family, especially his eight year-old daughter, Summer Lynn, in our thoughts and prayers. I hope all the people of Northwest Florida and our nation do the same.
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There are no Floor Speechess to be displayed for this month.
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