[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H3251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE 1ST SQUAD, 2ND PLATOON, HOTEL COMPANY OF THE 26TH 
                            MARINE REGIMENT

  (Mr. HINOJOSA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 1st Squad, 
2nd Platoon, Hotel Company of the 26th Marine regiment. It is with 
great honor that we commemorate these brave marines who risked their 
lives for our Nation.
  On May 29, 1967, at the end of Operation Hickory and the beginning of 
Operation Prairie IV, the 1st Squad, under the command of Sergeant 
Thomas Gonzalez, recovered a spent Russian SA-2 missile inside the 
demilitarized zone of South Vietnam on a reconnaissance control. The 
command-and-control mechanism of the missile was then transported to 
Washington, D.C., for analysis. The intelligence derived gave the U.S. 
a military advantage, changing the strategy and saving many, many 
lives.
  Today, I want to read the names of all these brave marines: U.S. 
Marine Thomas Gonzalez; Anthony Astuccio; Mike McCombes; Richard Light; 
Thomas Lehner; Ronald Blaine; Gerald Eggers; Albino Martinez; Lloyd 
Parker, Jr.; Charles Melton; Hector L.R. Rodriguez; and one U.S. Navy 
corpsman, Mel Overmeyer.

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