[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8922-H8923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  NAMING OF ARMED FORCES READINESS CENTER IN HONOR OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM 
                               WYLIE GALT

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 3759) to name the Armed Forces Readiness Center in 
Great Falls, Montana, in honor of Captain William Wylie Galt, a 
recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 3759

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

     SECTION 1. NAMING OF ARMED FORCES READINESS CENTER IN GREAT 
                   FALLS, MONTANA, IN HONOR OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM 
                   WYLIE GALT, A RECIPIENT OF THE CONGRESSIONAL 
                   MEDAL OF HONOR.

       The Armed Forces Readiness Center in Great Falls, Montana, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Captain William Wylie 
     Galt Great Falls Armed Forces Readiness Center''. Any 
     reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or 
     other record of the United States to such facility shall be 
     deemed to be a reference to the Captain William Wylie Galt 
     Great Falls Armed Forces Readiness Center.

                              {time}  1330

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on the legislation under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUNTER. I would also at this time like to yield the balance of my 
time, after I finish my opening remarks, to the gentleman from Montana 
(Mr. Rehberg), who was the sponsor of this bill, and I ask unanimous 
consent that he be allowed to control the time for purposes of debate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may proceed.
  Mr. HUNTER. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, this is one of these bills that it is good to go out on 
as we close down this session of Congress. This is an excellent 
initiative by my good friend from Montana to name the Armed Forces 
Readiness Center in Great Falls, Montana, in honor of Captain William 
Wylie Galt, who was a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  Mr. Speaker, we just had a hearing under the leadership of John 
McHugh, who is the outgoing chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee in 
Armed Services on the Medal of Honor and on the criteria for the award. 
And we had some initiatives, some good discussions with our service 
representatives on ensuring that we have the appropriate guidelines for 
giving this great medal. And it was an uplifting hearing, because it is 
a hearing in which the acts of Americans who went far beyond the call 
of duty were reviewed and were discussed.
  Mr. Speaker, I think anytime somebody passes this, walks by the Armed 
Forces Readiness Center in Great Falls, Montana, and they see that it 
is named after Captain Galt, they are going to be reminded, perhaps 
inspired, of his heroism.
  The Congressional Medal of Honor is a symbol of adherence to duty, 
honor and country; and I think it is absolutely appropriate that we 
name, with this dwindling pool of Medal of Honor recipients, and the 
gentleman, as a veteran of the United States Army knows, we now have a 
very small pool of living Medal of Honor winners. So I think that 
wherever it is possible to name our buildings and our institutions and 
installations after Medal of Honor recipients, it is a point of 
inspiration for young people that will be enduring.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I fully support Senate bill 3759. It establishes an Armed Forces 
Readiness Center in Great Falls, Montana, as a memorial to Captain 
William Wylie Galt. And reading his resume, reading his citation, 
receiving the Medal of Honor, it is one of courage and selfless 
sacrifice. There is no question in my mind this is a very good gesture, 
as it should be more often, to those who exhibited the highest type of 
valor for our country.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentleman for his kind words. And there are times in this 
responsibility of being a Congressman that sometimes you forget why you 
are here. It gives me tingles up the middle of my spine to think about 
the Galt family and how much they have contributed to the State of 
Montana and to this Nation over the years.
  This legislation would name the Armed Forces Readiness Center in 
Great Falls, Montana, in honor of Captain William Wylie Galt, a 
recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, as was said.
  The Armed Forces Readiness Center will house the Army National Guard 
and the Army Reserve units who have spent recent tours in Operation 
Iraqi Freedom.
  William Galt was born on December 19 of 1919 in Geyser, Montana. He 
was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, Infantry, through the Army ROTC 
program upon graduation from Montana State University in the spring of 
1942.
  I sometimes give Mr. Hunter a hard time because he did in fact attend 
the University of Montana for 1 year. And I can tell you, Missoula has 
not been the same since he left.
  Captain Galt was in Italy during World War II. For conspicuous 
gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, Captain Galt, at a 
particularly critical period following two unsuccessful attacks by his 
battalion, of his own volition went forward and ascertained just how 
critical the situation was. He volunteered, at the risk of his life, 
personally, to lead the battalion against the objective.
  When the lone remaining tank destroyer refused to go forward, Captain 
Galt jumped on the tank destroyer and ordered it to attack. As the tank 
destroyer moved forward, followed by a company of riflemen, Captain 
Galt manned the .30 caliber machine gun in the turret of the tank 
destroyer, located and directed fire on an enemy anti-tank gun, and 
destroyed it.
  Nearing the enemy positions, Captain Galt stood fully exposed in the 
turret, ceaselessly firing his machine gun and tossing hand grenades 
into the enemy's zigzag series of trenches despite the hail of sniper 
and machine gun bullets ricocheting off the tank destroyer.
  As the tank destroyer moved, Captain Galt so maneuvered it that 40 of 
the enemy were trapped in one of the trenches. When they refused to 
surrender, Captain Galt pressed the trigger of the machine gun and 
dispatched every one of them.
  A few minutes later, an 88-millimeter shell struck the tank destroyer 
and Captain Galt fell mortally wounded across his machine gun. He had 
personally killed 40 Germans and wounded many more.
  Captain Galt pitted his judgment and superb courage against 
overwhelming odds, exemplifying the highest measure of devotion to his 
country and the finest traditions of the U.S. Army.
  His courage and unrivaled determination to win for his country led to 
a win for America that day, but at the cost of his own life. William 
Galt is a true example of not only a Montana hero, but

[[Page H8923]]

an American hero. We are proud to honor him and the great sacrifice he 
gave to this country.
  The U.S. Army Reserve Center on Gore Hill was dedicated to Captain 
Galt in 1958. Unfortunately, in 2005, the Base Realignment Closure 
Commission, BRAC, decided to permanently close Galt Hall U.S. Army 
Reserve Center on Gore Hill in Great Falls, Montana and relocate units 
to a new Armed Forces Readiness Center near Malmstrom Air Force Base 
across town.
  I believe it is a fitting tribute to name the U.S. Armed Forces 
Readiness Center in Great Falls, Montana, the Captain William Wylie 
Galt Great Falls Armed Forces Readiness Center. It gives me a great 
deal of pleasure to have this legislation passed.
  Mr. Skelton, Mr. Hunter, thank you for your patience, thank you for 
your cooperation. Thanks for all that you did.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKELTON. 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 California (Mr. Hunter) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 3759.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having 
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the Senate 
bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________