[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 DEDICATION OF A PORTION OF INTERSTATE 80 IN MEMORY OF HIGHWAY PATROL 
                       OFFICER RAYMOND CARPENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TOM McCLINTOCK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 12, 2013

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join the city of Rocklin 
in dedicating a portion of Interstate 80 in memory of Highway Patrol 
Officer Raymond Carpenter.
   This dedication is meant to pay tribute to Ray's life and his long 
service to our nation and our community.
   His great sense of duty and commitment came as no surprise to those 
who knew his story; in fact it was a testament to his humble 
upbringing. He was born in a small cabin and raised on the Sullivan 
Ranch in Auburn, where he learned the long hours and hard work of a 
ranch hand. This hardy experience taught him the uniquely American 
values of hard work and the freedom that self-reliance provides. That 
same tenacity and perseverance would lead him to later become an 
Alaskan homesteader while stationed there as a Technical Sergeant with 
the U.S. Air Force, building his own cabin on the frontier of our 
nation, like his forebears before him had in the rugged wilderness of 
northern California.
   It was to the blessing of his native state that Ray was called to 
return home in 1956, where his love of the outdoors, motorcycles, and 
his passion for service led him to the California Highway Patrol. His 
kind disposition made him friends easily, and he was always fast in 
offering a helping hand. Whether in his time with the Air Force or as a 
Highway Patrol Officer after returning to California, Ray had spent the 
better part of his life in service to his fellow Americans. It was in 
that service that Ray surrendered his life when he was shot and killed 
in the line of duty on February 17, 1970.
   Mr. Speaker, while Ray's life was cut short, we must celebrate his 
contributions, for as General Patton said ``it is foolish and wrong to 
mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men 
lived.'' I am proud today to rise to honor his memory and in grateful 
recognition of his many years of service and sacrifice.

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