[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 108 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7017-H7018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THOMAS E. CREEK DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4836) to name the Department of Veterans Affairs 
medical center in Amarillo, Texas, as the ``Thomas E. Creek Department 
of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4836

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

     SECTION 1. NAME OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL 
                   CENTER IN AMARILLO, TEXAS.

       The Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in 
     Amarillo, Texas, shall after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act be known and designated as the ``Thomas E. Creek 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center''. Any 
     reference to that medical center in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, record, or other paper of the United States shall 
     be considered to be a reference to the Thomas E. Creek 
     Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4836 would name the VA Medical Center in the City 
of Amarillo, Texas, for Lance Corporal Thomas E. Creek. This heroic 
Marine gave his life on February 13, 1969, to save fellow Marines by 
falling on a grenade near Cam Lo, Vietnam. He was awarded our Nation's 
highest military declaration, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  Lance Corporal Creek was only 18 years old when he went above and 
beyond the call of duty while serving as rifleman with Company I, 3rd 
Battalion, 9th Marines. He was one of three Medal of Honor recipients 
who served with the 9th Marines during the Vietnam War.
  I commend my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Thornberry), for introducing H.R. 4836 to honor one of our Nation's 
heroes, and I will momentarily yield to him.
  The VA medical center in Amarillo, Texas, Mr. Speaker, opened in 1940 
and played an important role during and after World War II in caring 
for and rehabilitating U.S. servicemembers. The medical center today 
provides general medical and surgical treatment and alcohol 
rehabilitation and vocational rehab services for veterans. Expansion 
and renovation projects have kept the facility modern, and it currently 
has some 69 inpatient beds and 120 nursing care beds. I think it is 
entirely fitting and appropriate to remember the ultimate sacrifice of 
this young brave Marine by naming the Amarillo VA Medical Center for 
him.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the prime author of this bill.
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith); and the ranking member, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans); the subcommittee chairman, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons); and all the members of the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, including John Bradley of the staff, 
for their assistance and support with this measure.
  I also want to thank all my Texas colleagues. Each of them is a 
cosponsor of this bill, as is the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran), 
and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall), to whom I am also 
grateful.
  I want to acknowledge my staff members who have worked on this issue, 
especially Sylvia Nugent and Bryan Whitworth.
  I also want to recognize Larry Milam, Selden Hale, Pat Cunningham, 
Marvin Graham, and the other veterans of the Texas panhandle region who 
initiated this effort, as well as the veterans organizations which have 
lent their enthusiastic support, including the American Legion, 
Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of 
Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and AMVETS.
  I want to acknowledge as well the excellent work in exploring Thomas

[[Page H7018]]

Creek's story done by the Amarillo Globe News and High Plains Public 
Radio. And, finally, I want to thank the Creek family for their 
patience and understanding and dignity with which they have approached 
this matter.
  Mr. Speaker, in the late 1960s, Thomas E. Creek was in many ways a 
typical young man from the Texas panhandle. He had worked in a variety 
of jobs since he was 11 or 12 years old. He was a fan of Elvis Presley. 
He enjoyed being with his friends, and one remembered that he liked 
being in the middle of things. His brother, Ross, has been quoted as 
saying that ``he didn't think Tom was afraid of anything. That's what 
gets me,'' he said to the Amarillo Globe News. ``If he was afraid of 
anything, he kept it inside.''
  Tom Creek left school early and joined the Marine Corps. On the 4th 
of July, 1968, he stepped foot in Vietnam. In letters home, he called 
it hell. But on February 13, 1969, Marine Lance Corporal Thomas E. 
Creek was a rifleman with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd 
Marine Division. His unit was part of a resupply convoy that was 
ambushed by enemy forces using mortars, mines, fragmentation grenades, 
and small arms.
  According to the documents recommending him for the Medal of Honor, 
the fierce combat found the men firing at point-blank range. Corporal 
Creek was struck in the neck by a bullet. Blood was seen flowing from 
the wound. But then he noticed a fragmentation grenade land between him 
and the rest of the squad. Though wounded, he threw his body on top of 
the grenade. One of the Marines with him recalled seeing him run 
towards the grenade and yell, ``I've got it, Mac.'' His body absorbed 
the full impact of the grenade, saving the lives of at least five 
Marines nearby. His act inspired the rest of the squad to defeat the 
enemy and complete its mission to resupply the forward combat base. 
Eleven others were wounded, but only Tom Creek was killed.
  Lance Corporal Thomas E. Creek was awarded the Medal of Honor, the 
highest honor our Nation can bestow. This bill, as the chairman 
mentioned, will rename the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical 
Center in Amarillo, Texas, the Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center.
  Dr. Craig Barnes has said that as he read the book ``The Greatest 
Generation,'' he was struck by the fact that each of those described 
was a regular person. No one was born a hero. But when pushed, they 
found something heroic inside themselves. Heroes are ordinary people 
who refuse to be governed by fear when times are hard, he said.
  Tom Creek was a regular person. He was also a hero. He reached down 
within himself and made a decision in a split second, a decision to 
sacrifice his life in order to save the lives of others. It is the same 
kind of sacrifice which men and women have made throughout our history, 
from the Revolutionary War to the streets of Iraq and the mountains of 
Afghanistan, sacrifice for others while serving and defending the 
Nation.
  I believe that naming this veterans medical center for this 18-year-
old who sacrificed everything he had is a fitting tribute to his 
incredible heroism and sacrifice; that it will enhance the honor that 
rightfully belongs to those who have served our Nation and will be 
treated in this facility; and I hope that it will remind the rest of us 
that we too can refuse to be governed by fear and find something heroic 
inside ourselves as our duties demand.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation to honor Lance 
Corporal Thomas E. Creek by renaming the Amarillo VA Medical Center for 
him. As we are once again forced to confront on an almost daily basis 
the sacrifice of the young men and women who are serving our Nation, it 
is fitting and appropriate that we continue to honor the uncommon 
bravery of those soldiers who came before them.
  Thomas Creek embodied such bravery, when in February of 1969 he 
selflessly gave his own life to save the lives of fellow Marines in 
Vietnam.
  Mr. Speaker, by all accounts, Thomas Creek was a young man who 
deserves this honor which we can bestow upon him today, and I am proud 
to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4836.
  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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