[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING MR. URSULO ORTIZ

 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, my home State of New 
Mexico lost a great man this month with the passing of Mr. Ursulo 
Ortiz. Mr. Ortiz was 92 when he died on February 5, surrounded as he 
was throughout his life by his loving family. I would like to take a 
few moments to honor him today.
  The word ``dedicated'' comes to mind when recalling Mr. Ortiz 
dedicated to his family, his country, and his faith. Mr. Ortiz was part 
of a generation that witnessed some of our country's most historic and 
all too often difficult moments firsthand. And he took away from that 
experience an appreciation for all the small joys life has to offer.
  Mr. Ortiz was an entrepreneur with a strong work ethic, but he will 
be remembered most as a loving husband and proud father, grandfather, 
and great-grandfather.
  Mr. Ortiz's dedication to our country is self-evident. He enlisted in 
the Army within weeks of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Coming from a 
land-locked State, he did not even know how to swim when he put aside 
regard for his own life to rush up the beaches and soaring cliffs of 
Normandy on D-Day.
  Mr. Ortiz and his unit went on to liberate Paris and, later, 
concentration camps in the former Czechoslovakia. He was a hero and 
bringer of freedom, and served with honor.
  For those closest to Mr. Ortiz, it is his dedication to his family 
and his love of life that will be missed most. He left a legacy for 
future generations through the family's weaving business, which he 
supported from the time he graduated high school until the day he 
passed it onto his daughter.
  But more than that, his legacy is in the lasting memories held by 
those dearest to him memories of lighter moments spent listening to 
music and dancing. It is in those simple, everyday moments that Ortiz's 
spirit will live on.

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