Norton to Attend Ceremonies Honoring Fallen D.C. Guard Member (11/05/07)

Towns is the second member of the D.C. National Guard to die in the Iraq War. Army Specialist Darryl T. Dent, a graduate of Roosevelt High School, was killed in Iraq in August 2006. Norton has a special connection to Towns and other soldiers in the 275th because she spoke to them and their families at their D.C. Armory send-off four months before they headed to Iraq. Last week, Norton called Towns' wife to offer condolences to the family, on behalf of the residents of the District of Columbia. Staff Sgt. Towns, who worked for the Prince George's County Department of Corrections and was a Maryland resident, has two children on active duty status, one of whom is deployed in Iraq. Norton said, "Staff Sgt. Towns volunteered for a dangerous mission that he did not have to take. His reputation for leading by example is borne out not only by his military career and service, but by his pride in his children, who have followed him into military service abroad and law enforcement at home." The D.C. National Guard usually includes members from several states.

Norton said that residents appreciate the service of all our citizen soldiers, especially D.C. residents away today "forging democracy in Iraq and in other places of conflict around the world, while being denied full voting representation in Congress and full democracy in their nation's capital." Their service further encourages Norton in her work for the D.C. voting rights bill pending in the Senate, where another vote has been promised.