MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2011 1st Extraordinary Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Wilemon, Blount, Browning, Burton, Butler (38th), Carmichael, Clarke, Collins, Davis, Dawkins, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Hopson, Hyde-Smith, Jackson (32nd), Jones, Lee (35th), Mettetal, Michel, Montgomery, Powell, Stone, Ward

Senate Concurrent Resolution 504

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REMEMBERING THE GALLANT SERVICE AND MOURNING THE LOSS OF UNITED STATES ARMY STAFF SERGEANT CHRISTOPHER R. BELL OF GOLDEN, MISSISSIPPI, WHO WAS LOST IN ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN ON JUNE 4, 2011.

     WHEREAS, United States Army Staff Sergeant Christopher R. Bell, 21, of Golden, Mississippi (which borders Red Bay, Alabama), was fatally wounded while on patrol in an armored vehicle on June 4, 2011, along with three other members of his unit when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device in the Laghman Province of South Afghanistan; and

     WHEREAS, Sergeant Bell and his colleagues were assigned to the 164th Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, 3MEB out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.  Sergeant Bell was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2011.  He joined the Army in July 2008 after graduating from Tremont High School, Tremont, Mississippi, and served at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, before being stationed in Alaska in January 2009.  A memorial service was held for Sergeant Bell and the other brave soldiers in Laghman Province, Afghanistan, and a dignified transfer ceremony was held in their honor at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on June 6, 2011; and

     WHEREAS, Sergeant Bell and his wife, Samantha, have a daughter, Lana, who was two in August.  He was a charismatic soldier who was proud of his country and in the end gave the ultimate sacrifice a soldier can give in honor of it.  When a small community as tight-knit as Golden and the surrounding area, the death of a soldier is felt by everyone, as stated by Golden Mayor Davey Ginn; and

     WHEREAS, carried by a National Guard Honor Guard, he returned to the family and community he loved and was buried with full military honors at Living Faith Tabernacle Cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi.  During the funeral his wife proudly received her husband's posthumously awarded medals, including the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Good Conduct Medal, NATO Medal, and Combat Action Badge.  He was also awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/Bronze Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat and Special Skill Badge Basic Marksmanship Qualification Badge and Overseas Service Bar.  He is survived by his wife, Samantha Lucas Bell, and daughter, Lana Nicole Bell, both of Fort Richardson, Arkansas; parents, Timothy and Barbara Bell; brothers, Zachary and Timothy Joseph Bell, all of Red Bay, Alabama; maternal grandparents, James and Mary Wooten of Vernon, Alabama; paternal grandmother, Judith Pitcher of Michigan; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Vera and Roger Lucas; and brother-in-law, Roger Lucas, all of Vina, Alabama.  Army Specialists Andrew Fettig, Patrick Fry, Robert Worthington and PFC William Berreman, all members of the 793rd Military Police Battalion, served as pallbearers, in addition to the Mississippi Army National Guard Honor Guard; and

     WHEREAS, since operations began in the War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, at least 79 soldiers with Mississippi ties have died in action, and Sergeant Bell is the third to die in three months.  Christopher was a loving husband and father who is counted among America's heroes, committed to our nation's safety and security.  To a country, a fallen soldier means a national loss; to a community, a fallen soldier means a true hero; to a parent or wife, a fallen soldier means a son or husband who won't be coming home.  Mississippians understand the costs of conflict, because we have paid them in the past; and it is with great pride and humility that we recognize the heroic action of this great American and Mississippian, who was the guardian of civilization as we know it today:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby remember the gallant service and mourn the loss of United States Army Staff Sergeant Christopher R. Bell of Golden, Mississippi, who was lost in action on June 4, 2011, while conducting combat operations in Laghman Province, Afghanistan, and extend our thoughts and prayers to his family in honor of their sacrifice and our sorrow on his passing.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Sergeant Bell's family and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.