[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            HONORING THE RESCUE EFFORTS AT THE HOTEL MONTANA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ZACH WAMP

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Mr. WAMP. Madam Speaker, when the catastrophic earthquake devastated 
the island nation of Haiti in January, Americans from coast to coast 
rallied together in the spirit of compassion and generosity to help 
those in need. Several emergency organizations including Virginia's 
Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue teams and the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers responded to the crisis. They took on the daunting task of 
searching for survivors and recovering the remains of our fellow 
Americans from the Hotel Montana, a bustling hotel where many U.S. 
citizens were staying at the time of the deadly quake.
  The heroic efforts of these patriots went far above the call of duty. 
For more than a month, Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue teams 
braved extremely dangerous conditions, retrieving victims from the 
hotel ruins. The Army Corps of Engineers used heavy equipment to move 
mountains of rubble while the search and rescue teams simultaneously 
looked for survivors. They selflessly returned to the site each day 
facing the imminent threat of aftershocks and deadly structural 
collapse.
  Together, these men and women, led by U.S. Army COL Norberto Cintron, 
worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk in suffocating humidity and in 
temperatures that soared above 90 degrees to bring our missing fellow 
Americans home.
  Colonel Cintron is a man of exceptional honor and dignity who 
answered the emergency call to duty without hesitation. He provided an 
invaluable service to the families of the missing Americans, speaking 
with them at length on daily conference calls to explain the status of 
recovery efforts and answer all of their questions.
  Colonel Cintron broke from bureaucratic rhetoric to give family 
members straightforward, compassionate updates on their missing loved 
ones. He conveyed a sense of urgency and strong determination to find 
both the living and the dead trapped beneath the rubble of the Hotel 
Montana. With two daughters deployed to the Middle East, Colonel 
Cintron treated all of the missing persons as if they were a part of 
his own family. His heartfelt empathy and willingness to go the extra 
mile for those awaiting news back home brought humanity and hope to 
families suffering unimaginable loss.
  My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti and all of those 
who lost loved ones. I am grateful for the tenacity of leaders like 
Colonel Cintron, the volunteer spirit of the Fairfax County Urban 
Search and Rescue teams and the tireless work of the Army Corps of 
Engineers at the Hotel Montana. Their unwavering commitment brought a 
measure of closure to the families in the midst of this horrific 
situation.

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