[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 22, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H358-H359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ARMY PFC JUAN ALONSO COVARRUBIAS POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3720) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 424 Clay Avenue in Waco, Texas, as the ``Army PFC 
Juan Alonso Covarrubias Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3720

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

     SECTION 1. ARMY PFC JUAN ALONSO COVARRUBIAS POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 424 Clay Avenue in Waco, Texas, shall be 
     known and designated as the ``Army PFC Juan Alonso 
     Covarrubias 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 ``Army PFC Juan Alonso Covarrubias Post 
     Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Shays) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of 
H.R. 3720, which names the postal facility in Waco, Texas, after Army 
PFC Juan Alonso Covarrubias.
  H.R. 3720, which was introduced by Representative Chet Edwards on 
October 7, 2007, was reported from the Oversight Committee on December 
12, 2007, by voice vote. This measure has been cosponsored by 31 
Members and has the support of the entire Texas delegation.
  The bill is named after a servicemember who served and died as an 
airborne paratrooper in the Vietnam war in 1969. As a member of the 
Army Selective Service, he served in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Through 
his efforts and sacrifice, he was awarded the National Defense Service 
Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and Bronze Star Medal. His name appears 
on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. I urge swift passage of this 
bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHAYS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, on April 19, 1948, an American hero was born. His name 
was Juan Alonso Covarrubias. He was raised in Waco, Texas, but moved to 
Dallas, where he was drafted in 1968 into the United States Army. At 
the age of 20, he served courageously in Vietnam as an airborne 
paratrooper. It was there on April 24, 1969, in the Thua Thien 
Province, where he tragically lost his life while defending his 
country.
  Army Private First Class Covarrubias was buried with full military 
honors on April 4, 1969. Among his awards and decorations for his 
remarkable achievements are the Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 
National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Expert Badge and 
Rifle Bar, Marksman Badge with Auto Rifle Bar, Sharpshooter Badge and 
Machine Gun Bar.

                              {time}  1415

  His service has also been acknowledged at the Waco Vietnam Veterans 
Memorial and on the veterans wall in Washington, DC.
  Madam Speaker, let us recognize the courageous service and ultimate 
sacrifice of Army Private First Class Juan Alonso Covarrubias by 
renaming the post office located at 424 Clay Avenue in Waco, Texas, in 
his honor.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may 
require to the Member from Texas (Mr. Edwards) who sponsored this 
resolution.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Madam Speaker, let me first thank my colleagues for 
joining with me in honoring this great American. I rise today in 
support of H.R. 3720, which salutes the service and sacrifice of Army 
Private First Class Juan Alonso Covarrubias by naming a U.S. Post 
Office in Waco, Texas, my hometown, in his honor.
  For generations to come, citizens in Waco will be reminded that Mr. 
Covarrubias in the prime of his life in 1969, in the words of Lincoln, 
gave his ``last full measure of devotion'' to country.
  In doing so, Mr. Covarrubias joined the hallowed hall of heroes who, 
throughout our Nation's history, have given their lives and duty to 
country. Juan Alonso Covarrubias was born on April 19, 1948. He was 
raised in Waco and, as mentioned, later moved to Dallas. In 1968, he 
answered his country's call to duty. He served in the Army's famed 
101st Airborne Division and arrived in Vietnam on November 28, 1968, as 
a young 20-year-old airborne paratrooper.
  On March 24, 1969, just 1 month after the birth of his daughter, 
Tammy, this young father gave his life so very far from home. It is 
that type of incredible sacrifice that should remind us all that we are 
the land of the free, because we are still the home of the brave.
  With full military honors, Mr. Covarrubias was buried in Waco on Good 
Friday in 1969. While his final resting place may be there at Waco 
Memorial Park, I have faith that his spirit will touch the lives of 
others who will be inspired by this young man's love of country.
  Mr. Covarrubias is honored at the Waco Vietnam Veterans Memorial and 
on the Veterans Wall in Washington D.C. He earned the National Defense 
Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Good 
Conduct Medal, Expert Badge with Rifle Bar, Marksman Badge with Auto 
Rifle Bar, and the Sharpshooter Badge with Machine Gun Bar.

[[Page H359]]

  Upon the passage of this bill into law, thousands of Waco citizens 
who visit the U.S. Post Office at 424 Clay Avenue, just blocks away 
from the Waco VA regional office, will be touched by the life and 
sacrifice of the young man raised in their neighborhood.
  It is my hope that Hispanic Americans, who have time and again served 
our Nation in combat with distinction, will take special pride in 
knowing that Private First Class Covarrubias will forever stand as a 
symbol of all Hispanics who so patriotically served America in uniform.
  I especially want to thank my friend, a Vietnam veteran and a great 
veterans leader, Robert Gamboa, for working on this legislation to 
ensure that Mr. Covarrubias's service would never be forgotten.
  Madam Speaker, I believe the families and loved ones of our 
servicemen and women are truly the unsung heroes and heroines in our 
Nation's defense. That is why I want to express my respect to the 
family of Mr. Covarrubias, his 97-year-old father, Juan Covarrubias; 
his brother, Gilbert; his sister, Irene Covarrubias Ramirez; and his 
daughter, Tammy Covarrubias Boyett.
  I would also like to say to the Covarrubias family, which sacrificed 
so much for the American family, that a grateful Nation owes you a 
great, deep debt of gratitude.
  I would like to say to Tammy that while you never got to know your 
father in person, I hope you will always be proud that he loved you so 
much that he was willing to sacrifice his life for the country in which 
his little girl would be raised. Surely he must look down upon you now 
from a special place in heaven reserved for those who would lay down 
their lives for their neighbors.
  To Private Covarrubias's father, I would say, myself, as the father 
of two young sons, that no father should ever have to see his own son 
buried. But I hope you take comfort and pride in knowing that the 
spirit of your son that you helped bring into this world will be 
touching and inspiring the lives of others long after we are gone.
  Juan Alonso Covarrubias is an American hero who gave his life in 
defending our country in Vietnam. We humbly recognize that we could 
never fully repay him or his family and loved ones for their loss. But 
I hope and pray that honoring him in this way will celebrate his 
dedicated service and preserve his memory.
  Madam Speaker, with honor and respect for the life of Juan Alonso 
Covarrubias, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3720.
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3720.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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