[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 5, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF MR. BENJAMIN De La SELVA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2005

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Benjamin ``Ben'' De 
La Selva. Ben was born in Somoto, Nicaragua, in 1939. He immigrated to 
the United States in 1961, subsequently serving in the U.S. Army for 
six and a half years. In the mid 1960s he studied French and Polish at 
the Defense Language Institute, DLI, and then served a year in Vietnam 
(1966-67) with the 173rd Airborne as Prisoner of War interrogator and 
French linguist. Ben was in Dakto, Central Highlands, at the onset of 
one of the Vietnam War's bloodiest battles. After leaving the military 
and getting a college education through the GI Bill, Ben was hired at 
DLI, where he occupied numerous positions from 1972 to 2005.
  During his rise from teacher to dean at DLI, Ben trained thousands of 
military linguists, guided several generations of language teachers, 
and mentored many supervisors and managers who now occupy leadership 
positions. Moreover, he supervised every DLI language program and 
participated in the development of much needed Spanish, Chinese, 
Korean, and Arabic curricula. During the last 20 consecutive years, Ben 
served as dean of every DLI resident school, a credit to his solid 
leadership qualities. As a dean, he participated in several pioneering 
initiatives including Team Teaching, the Faculty Personnel System, and 
the introduction of up-to-date teaching methods. Likewise, Ben was at 
the forefront of DLI's giant leap to modem-day technology. Ben retired 
on January 3rd, 2005, but is still associated with the U.S. government 
in his capacity as President of the DLI Alumni Association, a non-
profit organization he founded in November 2001.
  Mr. Speaker, Ben is an excellent example of the immigrant young man 
who arrives in the USA with a high school diploma, serves in the 
military, gets an education through the GI Bill, pursues and flourishes 
in a governmental career, and 40 years later retires with an impeccable 
and distinguished record. Ben truly believes he has achieved the 
American dream. He exemplifies the highest aspirations of this nation. 
I am proud to honor him today.




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