[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 119 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6206-H6207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       GEORGE SAKATO POST OFFICE

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 931) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 4910 Brighton Boulevard in Denver, Colorado, as the 
``George Sakato Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 931

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. GEORGE SAKATO POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 4910 Brighton Boulevard in Denver, 
     Colorado, shall be known and designated as the ``George 
     Sakato Post Office''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``George Sakato Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the

[[Page H6207]]

gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) each will control 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 931, introduced by the 
senior Senator from Colorado, Senator Cory Gardner. S. 931 would name 
the post office at 4910 Brighton Boulevard in Denver, Colorado, in 
honor of Private George T. Sakato.
  Born in Colton, California, Sakato joined the U.S. Army in 1944. 
Sakato served in the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World 
War II. On October 29, 1944, Sakato showed extraordinary heroism, 
charging a hill on the front line in France, winning control of the 
site and assuming control of his platoon after his platoon leader was 
killed in action.
  In recognition of his heroism, Congress awarded him Nation's highest 
award for military valor, the Medal of Honor.
  After returning home, Sakato continued 27 years of his life to work 
at the Stockyards Station Post Office.
  Today and through this bill, we celebrate Private Sakato's life and 
service to his Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill honoring his 
life and service, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of 
S. 931 to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 4910 Brighton Boulevard in Denver, Colorado, as the George 
Sakato Post Office.
  Born in California in 1921, George Sakato overcame discrimination to 
become an American hero. Classified as an ``enemy alien'' because of 
his Japanese heritage, Mr. Sakato was rejected by the Army Air Forces 
when he tried to enlist shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  Mr. Sakato did not quit though, saying decades later, in 2009: ``What 
do you mean `enemy alien'? I am an American.''
  Mr. Sakato continued trying to enlist until he was finally accepted 
by the Army Ground Forces in 1944 and sent to fight in Europe, and we 
are glad that he did. There, he exemplified hard work and selflessness, 
serving with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit of Japanese 
Americans that would become the most highly decorated combat unit of 
its size and time serving in U.S. history.
  Private Sakato would contribute to that legacy, earning the Army's 
second highest combat honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, after 
courageously leading his fellow soldiers to overtake the enemy in 
France after his platoon leader was killed.
  In the year 2000, Private Sakato was awarded, as we heard, the Medal 
of Honor along with 21 other Asian American World War II veterans.
  Private Sakato worked for the United States post office in Denver for 
more than two decades and passed away at the age of 94 in 2015.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of S. 931 to commemorate Private 
Sakato's service and to honor the contributions he and so many other 
Japanese Americans have made to this Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I urge passage of this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Walker) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 931.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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