[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2209-S2210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. Bryan):
  S. 513. A bill to designate the new hospital bed replacement building 
at the Ioannis A. Lougaris Department of Veterans Affairs Medical 
Center in Reno, Nevada, in honor of Jack Streeter; to the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.


    Ioanis A. Lougaris Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to 
designate the new hospital bed replacement building at the Ioannis A. 
Lougaris Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, in honor of Mr. Jack Streeter.
  Jack Streeter is Nevada's most decorated veteran from World War II. 
He was born on December 1, 1921 in Ely, Nevada. For his valiant 
service, he was awarded five Silver Stars, five Purple Hearts and the 
two Bronze Stars. He was a combat infantryman and served with the 1st 
Infantry Division (Big Red One). He left the service as a captain, U.S. 
Army.
  Mr. Streeter has an incredible life history of business and 
professional success. Mr. Streeter is an attorney at law, practicing 
for over forty years in the State of Nevada.
  Jack graduated from the University of Nevada Reno in 1943, where upon 
after completing Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, he 
entered the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. He saw combat throughout 
Europe in the Second World War in such places as the Normandy invasion 
on D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the St. Lo Breakthrough, Battle of 
Mortain, Battle of Mons, Battle of Aaachen, and the Battle of Hurtgen 
Forest.
  After leaving the Army in 1945, Jack attended Hastings Law School in 
San Francisco, California, graduating in 1948. He returned to practice 
law in Nevada. In 1950 he entered politics and was elected district 
attorney in Reno. As District Attorney he compiled an impressive 
prosecution record and founded the National District Attorney 
Association.
  During the next 43 years of private legal practice, jack specialized 
in business law representing a variety of different enterprises. He was 
active in many civic groups serving as president of the Nevada State 
Jaycees, Sertoma Club, Reno Navy League, and Chairman of the 
Commissioning Committee for the U.S.S. Nevada trident submarine.
  Jack is on the boards of directors of the Society of the First 
Infantry Division, the University of Nevada Foundation, Saint Mary's 
Hospital Foundation, and he is a Knight of Malta. He also serves as the 
president of the World Association of Lawyers.
  Veterans in northern Nevada have long needed this new wing to their 
VA Medical Center and it is only fitting that it be named in honor of 
Nevada's most decorated veteran from World War II.
  The new facility I am requesting be named in honor of Jack Streeter 
is located in the complex known as the Ioannis A. Lougaris Va Medical 
Center. Mr. Lougaris was the first living individual to have a VA 
Medical Center named in his honor.
  Before World War II, John Lougaris remembered the veterans of World 
War I and the lack of medical aid, especially in Nevada. As a National 
Executive Committeeman from Nevada, he made many trips to Washington, 
DC, sixteen of them at his own expense, endeavoring to get a Veterans 
Hospital established in Reno.
  The first success was a 26-bed unit, built in 1939 with a $100,000 
federal grant. In 1944, John's efforts led to increasing the facility 
to 125 beds. He did not stop working and today the Reno VA Medical 
Center which bears his honorable name, serves Nevada's veterans well as 
a 107 bed facility which includes a 60 bed nursing home facility and 12 
intensive care unit beds. The new bed replacement facility, which the 
bill I am offering today seeks to name after Jack Streeter, was built 
at the cost of $27 million and brings this hospital to a modern day 
standard.
  In recognition of John Lougaris's devotion, deep interest, and 
untiring efforts in the development of a hospital to serve veterans in 
Nevada and Northern California, the Congress of the United States, by 
Public Law 97-66, rededicated the Reno VA Medical Center as the Ioannis 
A. Lougaris VA Medical Center on December 17, 1981.
  It was certainly a well deserved gesture when Congress designated the 
VA Medical Center in honor of Ioannis A. Lougaris. It would now be 
equally fitting to name the new hospital wing in honor of Mr. Jack 
Streeter for his outstanding record of service to this Nation.

[[Page S2210]]

  Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, I am proud to join with my friend and 
colleague from Nevada, Senator Reid, in introducing this important 
legislation today to honor an individual whose extraordinary military 
service record and faithful commitment to his community warrants 
special recognition.
  As Senator Reid has explained, in the next few months a new wing will 
be dedicated at the Ioannis A. Lougaris VA Medical Center in Reno, 
Nevada. This five-story, 110-bed tower is a welcome addition to the 
Reno VAMC, and will provide veterans in northern Nevada with the modern 
facilities and quality inpatient care they so clearly deserve. The 
purpose of the legislation we are introducing today is to name that new 
wing after Mr. Jack Streeter, an individual whose lifetime is 
hallmarked by his exemplary service record, his steadfast dedication to 
the veterans community and his leadership in numerous charitable and 
nonprofit organization.
  I have had the opportunity to know Jack for many years now, dating 
back to my tenure as governor of Nevada. Anyone who has come into 
contact with Jack Streeter, and who had the occasion to talk with Jack 
and learn more about his experiences, can understand and appreciate 
what an extraordinary individual this man is.
  Jack Streeter's military service record is quite well known in the 
state of Nevada. He is, in fact, the most decorated World War Two 
veteran in Nevada, having earned five Purpose Hearts, five Silver 
Stars, and two Bronze Stars in the European Theater. Let me repeat that 
Mr. President, because it truly is an astounding record. Five Purple 
Hearts, five Silver Stars, and two Bronze Stars.
  As a young second lieutenant during the war, Jack saw action from the 
Allied invasion of Normandy to the decisive Battle of the Bulge in the 
winter of 1944-45. Upon leaving the service in 1946, Mr. Streeter 
earned a law degree from Hastings Law School in San Francisco and later 
returned to Reno, where he was soon elected as district attorney. He 
later found the National District Attorney Association and participated 
in numerous civic organizations and foundations.
  Jack Streeter's distinguished military service record, coupled with 
his unyielding dedication to his community, merits the sort of 
recognition and rememberence that this legislation will provide. To all 
Nevadans who have had the opportunity to know Jack, he is a friend, a 
civic leader, and most importantly, a champion of the community.
  I look forward to working with Senator Reid and the entire Nevada 
delegation in passing this proposal and naming this new wing after a 
true American hero.
                                 ______