[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 95 (Monday, July 12, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5483-H5485]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SERGEANT FIRST CLASS PAUL RAY SMITH POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4380) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 4737 Mile Stretch Drive in Holiday, 
Florida, as the ``Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith Post Office 
Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4380

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

     SECTION 1. SERGEANT FIRST CLASS PAUL RAY SMITH POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 4737 Mile Stretch Drive in Holiday, 
     Florida, shall be known and designated as the ``Sergeant 
     First Class Paul Ray Smith 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 Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith Post 
     Office Building.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. Miller) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

                              {time}  1500

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4380 commemorates the incredible bravery and 
patriotism of Army Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith. On April 4 of 
2003, Sergeant Smith of Holiday, Florida, was tragically killed in 
action in Operation Iraqi Freedom during a fierce fire fight near 
Baghdad.
  Mr. Speaker, Sergeant Smith was a member of the Bravo Company, 
Eleventh Engineer Battalion of the Army's

[[Page H5484]]

Third Infantry Division. He enlisted after graduating from high school 
and served an accomplished 13-year career in the Army. Sergeant Smith 
served valiantly in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Desert Shield, 
Kosovo, and Bosnia. He earned several military honors, including the 
Bronze Star as well as the Purple Heart.
  Mr. Speaker, Sergeant Smith leaves behind a wife and two children in 
Holiday, Florida; and we pray and we hope that this post office 
designation will always remind them of the bravery and the love of 
their husband and father, Paul Ray Smith. Our entire Nation owes 
Sergeant Smith an incredible debt, and that is why I strongly urge the 
passage of H.R. 4380. I certainly thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Bilirakis) for advancing this legislation that honors the courageous 
Sergeant Paul Ray Smith.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, 
I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 4380, 
legislation designating the United States Postal Facility in Holiday, 
Florida, after Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith. This measure, which 
was introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) on May 18, 
2004, was unanimously reported by our committee on July 8, 2004. The 
bill enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Florida 
delegation.
  When Paul Smith graduated in 1989 from Tampa Bay Vocational-Technical 
High School, he did what a lot of young men and women do: he joined the 
Army. Sergeant First Class Paul Smith served in the Army's Eleventh 
Engineer Battalion, Bravo Company from Fort Stewart's Third Infantry 
Division, Mechanized. His unit was assigned to build a compound for 
Iraqi prisoners of war near the captured Baghdad Airport. As a combat 
engineer, Smith was part of a group that built bridges for troops to 
cross to difficult areas and found and destroyed enemy weapons.
  According to news accounts, it was during the early morning of April 
4, 2003, when Sergeant First Class Smith and his combat engineers were 
working on setting up roadblocks on the highway between the old Saddam 
International Airport and Baghdad. His battalion was attacked after 
knocking down the gate to a Republican Guard complex. At that point, a 
small group of American soldiers was confronted with over 100 Iraqi 
fighters.
  Sergeant First Class Smith, after looking after his wounded troops, 
jumped into a damaged tank and fired upon the Iraqis with 50 caliber 
bullets for an hour and a half. His unit credits him with killing 30 to 
50 of the enemy. When the fighting was over, Sergeant First Class Paul 
Smith was found shot in the head, the only soldier of his unit to die 
that day.
  For killing the enemy and defending his unit against attack, Sergeant 
First Class Paul Ray Smith has received the Bronze Star and the Purple 
Heart. He has been nominated for the highest military honor: the Medal 
of Honor.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor Sergeant 
First Class Paul Ray Smith in this manner. Sergeant First Class Smith 
was a loving husband and father, and now a hero. I urge swift passage 
of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), 
the sponsor of this resolution.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Mrs. Miller) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) particularly, 
and the leadership for their cooperation in bringing this bill to the 
floor as quickly as we have.
  I too rise with great honor to support my bill, H.R. 4380, which will 
name the post office at 4737 Mile Stretch Drive in Holiday, Florida, 
the Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith Post Office. I cannot think of 
anything more fitting than to name the only post office in Holiday, 
Florida, after one of her bravest citizens, Sergeant First Class Paul 
Ray Smith. While Paul was many things to many people, he can be 
remembered best as a distinguished soldier and American hero and a 
great family man.
  Paul was raised in Tampa, Florida, by a single mother who instilled 
the values of hard work and determination in Paul and his three 
siblings. Paul would later use these values in battle in Baghdad.
  Paul attended the Tampa Vocational-Technical High School in 1989 and 
joined the U.S. Army following graduation. He served tours of duty in 
Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War and during the Bosnia and Kosovo 
conflicts. Throughout his career, Sergeant Smith distinguished himself 
as a fine soldier. He was awarded five Army Commendation Medals, six 
Army Achievement Medals, a Kuwaiti Liberation Medal, a NATO Liberation 
Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, three Good Conduct Medals, 
a Sergeant Morales Club for his courageous actions during combat, the 
Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
  His most valiant action as a soldier occurred on April 4, 2003, 
outside of Saddam International Airport in Baghdad. Sergeant Smith's 
unit, the Bravo Company of the Eleventh Engineer Battalion of the Third 
Infantry, was tasked with securing a prison for Iraqi prisoners of war 
at the Baghdad Airport, which had just been secured by American forces. 
Sergeant Smith immediately thought of the grassy courtyard he had seen 
that was encompassed by a tall stone wall and next to a tower that 
overlooked it.
  He gave the orders to build a prison, not knowing that the tower and 
surrounding area was still occupied by members of the Iraqi Republican 
Guard. While Sergeant Smith and his men were working in the POW prison, 
they spotted members of the Republican Guard nearby. Paul called for a 
Bradley, which was at a nearby road block, and he prepared his men for 
engagement. Sergeant Smith took charge and led the effort while they 
waited for the Bradley, which would bring an intimidating fire force.
  Even though Sergeant Smith and his men were outnumbered by more than 
two to one, they continued to fight back. Paul jumped on an Army 
vehicle and began firing a 50 caliber machine gun. He fired and 
reloaded and continued to fire. Sergeant Smith's determination and 
bravery gave him the strength to lead the fight until he was shot and 
killed.
  Sergeant Paul Smith, Mr. Speaker, never wavered, he never questioned 
his decisions, and he never gave up. He fought the hard fight, and by 
doing so he saved the lives of all of his men and the more than 100 
American soldiers in the surrounding area. For his efforts, Sergeant 
Smith has been nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor, the 
military's highest honor. As my colleagues know, the Medal of Honor is 
awarded in the name of Congress by the President of the United States. 
Only some 3,400 men and women who have distinguished themselves, as the 
famous words state, ``at the risk of his life, above and beyond the 
call of duty,'' have received the Medal of Honor since its inception in 
1861. The last action in which the Medal of Honor was awarded was in 
1993 posthumously, to two soldiers who died fighting in Somalia. 
Sergeant Paul Smith's courage under pressure and his undying honor to 
protect the men under his guard make him the perfect candidate for the 
Medal of Honor.
  While Sergeant Paul Smith epitomizes the phrase ``American hero'' and 
will not be forgotten because of his fearlessness and conviction, he 
will always be remembered as a devoted husband, a loving father, and a 
deserving son and brother. Not only did he leave his men in the 
battlefield that day, but he also left behind his wife, Birgit, and 
their children, Jessica and David; his mother and stepfather, Donald 
and Janice Rvirre, and two sisters and a brother. I hope they 
understand the importance of what Paul did that day and know that 
America thanks him and his family for the incredible sacrifice he made.
  Mr. Speaker, for these many reasons, I believe that naming the 
Holiday, Florida, post office, which is just miles from where the Smith 
family now resides, after Paul is just one small way we as Americans 
can show our appreciation for the most precious sacrifice Paul made for 
us and generations to come.
  Ronald Reagan once said, ``Freedom is never more than one generation

[[Page H5485]]

away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the 
bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them 
to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our 
children and our children's children what it was once like in the 
United States where men were free.''
  Mr. Speaker, may Paul Ray Smith's memory be eternal, and may God 
bless the Smith family, and may God bless America.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I would certainly urge all 
Members to support H.R. 4380, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Burgess). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4380.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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