[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 6, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1806-H1807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CAPTAIN MARK STUBENHOFER POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 1460) to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 6200 Rolling Road in Springfield, 
Virginia, as the ``Captain Mark Stubenhofer Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1460

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

     SECTION 1. CAPTAIN MARK STUBENHOFER POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 6200 Rolling Road in Springfield, 
     Virginia, shall be known and designated as the ``Captain Mark 
     Stubenhofer 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 ``Captain Mark Stubenhofer Post Office 
     Building''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam 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 H.R. 1460, the 
bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may require.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1460, which I 
introduced to recognize the bravery and selfless dedication of Captain 
Mark Stubenhofer.
  Captain Stubenhofer was born in Fairfax, Virginia, on April 18, 1974. 
He grew up there in the suburbs of this great capital of freedom, and 
he was an all-American from the start.
  Mark delivered newspapers in the morning before school. He worked 
long after the school day ended doing homework or practicing baseball. 
He attended West Springfield High School in West Springfield, Fairfax 
County, and he attended Nativity Catholic Church nearby.
  He was elected student government vice president at West Springfield 
and played varsity baseball. After graduation, he went on to Clemson 
University where he honed his leadership skills through the school's 
ROTC program. He graduated from Clemson in May of 1996 and immediately 
began fulfilling his obligation to the Army.
  Captain Stubenhofer was commissioned as an infantry officer and 
attended both the elite Airborne and Ranger schools. He went on to 
serve two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  During his first tour in 2003, he helped liberate five Iraqi cities. 
In his second tour, Captain Stubenhofer served as a company commander 
for the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored 
Division. He was awarded numerous medals and honors, among them two 
Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal and 
two Army Commendation Medals.
  Madam Speaker, during his final tour of duty, Captain Stubenhofer's 
third child was born, a daughter he asked his beloved wife Patty to 
name Hope. As he commented in his last phone conversation to his 
parents, the reason for the name was that it was hope that brought him 
to Iraq in the courageous

[[Page H1807]]

service of his country. Tragically, Captain Stubenhofer never met his 
daughter Hope. He was killed in combat on December 7, 2004.
  Madam Speaker, we owe Captain Mark Stubenhofer, and all those who 
have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country, a debt of gratitude 
that we can never repay.
  While we pay homage to fallen heroes like Mark with memorials or post 
offices, the most fitting tribute is the enduring memory of their 
lives.
  As Pericles, the greater orator, builder and general of Athens, said, 
for to famous men, all the Earth is a sepulcher, and the virtues shall 
be testified not only by the inscription in stone at home, but by an 
unwritten record of the mind which more than any monument will remain 
with everyone forever.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to forever remember Captain 
Mark Stubenhofer and to keep a record in our minds and hearts of the 
great works and sacrifices that all of our sons and daughters of the 
military continue to make on our behalf. Captain Stubenhofer was one of 
America's finest.

                              {time}  1415

  His deeds and sacrifices will forever be remembered by his friends 
and family and by a grateful community in Springfield, Virginia, who 
share with me their pride in having his name enshrined on our local 
post office.
  I thank the Virginia delegation for their unanimous support of this 
resolution, and I ask all Members to pass H.R. 1460.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume; and as a member of the House Committee on Government 
Reform, I am pleased to join our chairman, the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Tom Davis), in the consideration of H.R. 1460, legislation naming 
the U.S. postal facility in Springfield, Virginia, after Captain Mark 
Stubenhofer. This measure, which has been sponsored by the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), chairman of the Committee on Government 
Reform, was introduced with the support and cosponsorship of the entire 
Virginia delegation.
  Captain Mark Norman Stubenhofer died on December 7, 2004, in Baghdad, 
Iraq, when his unit was attacked by small arms fire. Captain 
Stubenhofer, a company commander, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 
41st Regiment, 1st Armored Division in Fort Riley, Kansas. Captain 
Stubenhofer, a native of Springfield, Virginia, was on his second tour 
of duty in Iraq when he was killed.
  Mark Stubenhofer graduated from West Springfield High School in 1992. 
In high school, he was a student government leader, member of the 
homecoming court, and baseball player. After high school, Mark went on 
to graduate from Clemson University with a degree in history in 1996. 
Mark joined the Army after graduating from college. While in the Army, 
he was certified as an Army Ranger and jump instructor. He earned the 
Bronze Star during his first tour of duty in Iraq.
  He left behind a wife, Patty, and three children, Lauren, Justin, and 
Hope. Madam Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman 
Tom Davis) for seeking to honor the sacrifice of Captain Stubenhofer by 
naming a postal facility in his honor in his hometown. I urge swift 
adoption of this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume to simply urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 
1460.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Miller of Michigan). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1460.
  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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