[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 102 (Wednesday, September 6, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7231-H7232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               EVERETT ALVAREZ, JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4484) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 500 North Washington Street in Rockville, Maryland, 
as the ``Everett Alvarez, Jr. Post Office Building.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4484

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EVERETT ALVAREZ, JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 500 North Washington Street in Rockville, 
     Maryland, shall be known and designated as the ``Everett 
     Alvarez, Jr. Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Everett Alvarez, Jr. Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Maryland (Mrs. Morella) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
each will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H7232]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H.R. 4484.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Maryland?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4484, which designates the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 500 North 
Washington Street in Rockville, Maryland as the Everett Alvarez, Jr. 
Post Office Building. It is with great pride that we in the Maryland 
Congressional Delegation honor a man for whom our entire Nation is 
eternally grateful.
  During his life, Mr. Alvarez has faithfully served as a distinguished 
military officer and public servant. In 1960, after earning a Bachelor 
of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Santa Clara 
and becoming the first in his family to go to college, Mr. Alvarez 
joined the United States Navy.
  After serving in the Navy for 20 years, he retired from his position 
with program management at the Naval Air Systems Command in Washington, 
D.C. and accepted an appointment as deputy director of the Peace Corps.
  In 1982, President Reagan nominated him, and the Senate confirmed his 
appointment, as the deputy administrator of the Veterans 
Administration. After leaving the position of deputy administrator of 
the VA, Mr. Alvarez joined the Hospital Corporation of America before 
forming his own consulting company, Conwal, Incorporated.
  A dedicated civil servant, Mr. Alvarez is best known to the public as 
the first American aviator shot down over North Vietnam. In 1964, then 
LTJG Everett Alvarez, an A-4 Skyhawk pilot, was assigned to Attack 
Squadron 144 on board the U.S.S. Constellation. On August 5, he was 
shot down and captured on the first raid in North Vietnam.
  Commander Alvarez was reported as captured at about 4 p.m. Hanoi time 
at Hon Gai Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. He was kept in the local jail 
cell in Hon Gai with two Vietnamese prisoners for 2 days, then moved to 
a nearby farm until August 12. On the 12th, he was taken in Hanoi and 
placed into room 24 in the infamous Hanoi Hilton where he lived until 
March of 1965, at which time other American prisoners started to 
arrive.
  Commander Alvarez earned the dubious distinction of not only being 
the first naval aviator captured by the North Vietnamese, but also the 
longest confirmed prisoner of war in North Vietnam. On February 12, 
1973, Commander Alvarez was finally released after 8\1/2\ years of 
imprisonment.
  For his courageous service, Everett Alvarez holds numerous military 
decorations. He has been honored with the Silver Star, two Legions of 
Merit, with combat ``V,'' two Bronze Stars, with combat ``V,'' the 
Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Purple Heart medals.
  In addition, a city park and two housing projects in California and 
Texas have been named in honor of Mr. Alvarez. In 1987, his hometown of 
Salinas, California, named a new high school in his honor. In March of 
1998, he was awarded with the Daughters of the American Revolution's 
Medal of Honor.
  Today, we have the opportunity to honor him in Rockville, Maryland, 
where Mr. Alvarez, his wife Thomasine, and his two sons, Mark and 
Bryan, currently reside. Unfortunately the Alvarez family was not able 
to be in the gallery this afternoon because Mr. Alvarez continues to 
serve America and America's future with his position on the Board of 
Regents of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and is 
currently at their annual board meeting in Colorado.
  Commander Alvarez's life stands as a testament to patriotism, to 
courage, and to perseverance. He, like any of our Nation's veterans, 
deserves our highest praise for risking his life defending this great 
Nation.
  In the historical publication, We Came Home, Commander Alvarez 
reflects on his prisoner-of-war experience with this statement:
  ``For years and years, during our long incarceration, we dreamed of 
the day when we would come home to our families and friends. We never 
gave up hope that this day might come soon, because we had faith--faith 
in God, in our country, and in ourselves. It was this faith that 
maintained that someday our dreams would come true. No one can be 
prouder than I am for having had the association of some of the bravest 
men this country has ever seen--my fellow prisoners who were held in 
North Vietnamese jails.''
  Madam Speaker, it is a privilege for me to sponsor this legislation 
endorsed by all of the Maryland delegation to honor one of America's 
great heroes, Everett Alvarez, Jr.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 4484, which names a post office after Everett 
Alvarez, was introduced by the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. 
Morella), my good friend and colleague, on May 17, 2000.
  Everett Alvarez was born in Salinas, California, in 1937. He earned a 
Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master's 
degree in Operations Research and Systems Analysis, and a Juris 
Doctorate.
  After earning his bachelor's degree in 1960, he joined the United 
States Navy and was an officer. He was taken prisoner of war in August 
of 1964 and held captive in North Vietnam for 8\1/2\ years until the 
general release of prisoners in February of 1973.
  He served in program management at the Naval Air Systems Command in 
Washington, D.C. until his retirement in 1980. In 1981, he accepted an 
appointment as deputy director of the Peace Corps. President Reagan 
nominated him, and he was confirmed by the Senate, to be deputy 
administrator of the Veterans Administration in 1982.
  Mr. Alvarez is a recipient of numerous military declarations and 
civilian awards and serves on several boards of directors. The fact is 
that he is a military man and he has given so much to his country, and 
someone once said freedom is not free. The fact is that Mr. Alvarez 
took time out of his life to sacrifice so that we could all be free and 
enjoy the wonderful life that we enjoy in this country and around the 
world.
  Madam Speaker, I urge the adoption of H.R. 4484. I thank the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) for recognizing this great 
Marylander.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1545

  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to acknowledge and demonstrate my appreciation 
to the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, the gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Burton), and the ranking member; as well as the 
chairman of the subcommittee before whom this bill came, the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. McHugh) and his ranking member, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah).
  I want to also thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for 
his sponsorship of this bill. It is interesting that we have the two 
Marylanders managing the time for a bill to name a post office for a 
national hero that will be in Maryland. So I urge support of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4484.
  The question was taken.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Madame Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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