[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 95 (Thursday, June 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN HONOR OF CORPORAL BERNARD P. CORPUZ

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2012

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life of Corporal 
Bernard P. Corpuz, and to join the U.S. Army in recognizing his service 
to our nation by dedicating the military's newest language training 
facility in his honor. Corporal Corpuz was a native to California's 
Central Coast, and represented his community with pride during his 
service in the Army. He was killed in action in Ghazni, Afghanistan, on 
June 11, 2006 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
  Bernard Corpuz was born on August 16, 1977, and grew up near 
Watsonville, California. He graduated from Palma High School and 
attended Hartnell College, both in Salinas, California. In July 2004, 
Corpuz joined the U.S. Army. After completing basic training, he was 
sent back to California's Central Coast to study at the Defense 
Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI) in Monterey, 
California. DLI is the nation's largest and most rigorous language 
education center. Corpuz completed a rigorous six-month French basic 
course and graduated on April 28, 2005. His instructors at DLI 
described him as an extremely dedicated student of French, who studied 
the language with passion and read French literary and religious books 
with zeal.
  Following DLI, Corpuz trained as an Army interrogator. In December 
2005, he deployed with the 303rd Military Intelligence Battalion, part 
of the 504th Military Intelligence Brigade, to Afghanistan. On June 11, 
2006, Corporal Corpuz was fatally wounded when an improvised explosive 
device detonated while he traveled in a convoy of vehicles conducting a 
village assessment. He died in the arms of a Catholic chaplain at the 
age of 28.
  Our nation's need for military linguists has grown dramatically in 
the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. DLI has grown in an equally 
dramatic way to meet this demand. Congress and the Department of 
Defense have helped by funding the expansion and modernization of DLI's 
teaching facilities. The newest facility, a 47,000 square foot state of 
the art building will be formally dedicated and named in honor of 
Corporal Corpuz on Friday, June 22, 2012. The new Corpuz Hall will 
house DLI's Multi-Language School, which educates students in the 
critical languages of Dari, Pashto, Urdu, Uzbek, Punjabi, Turkish, and 
Hindi. Every time these future military linguists enter the building 
they will be reminded of the passion and determination Corporal Corpuz 
brought to the classroom and to his service to our nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I know I speak on behalf of the entire House, in 
expressing our nation's gratitude to Corporal Bernard P. Corpuz. Also, 
may his mother, Peggy Corpuz, seek comfort in knowing her son's name is 
a beacon for higher learning and national service.

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