[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING BOY SCOUT ADAM PIETRAS

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                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2019

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call 
attention to the true story of Adam Pietras, a Boy Scout from my home 
town of Hamilton, N.J. in the Fourth Congressional District.
  Adam's remarkable courage--without any concern for his own personal 
safety--and his immediate and decisive response action literally helped 
save the life of his sister.
  This Saturday, March 16, 2019, Adam will be honored at a Court of 
Honor by his fellow scouts of Boy Scout Troop 87, members from the 
Veterans of Foreign War who host Troop 87, friends, and family. We will 
be proud and humble to present him with a U.S. flag, flown over the 
U.S. Capitol in his honor.
  Madam Speaker, Adam was only 10, when he acted without regard to his 
own safety as he fought off a loose Bullmastiff dog that was charging 
to attack his younger sister, Rachel, then age 7, in the family's 
backyard in 2015. Though Adam sustained severe injuries from the 
powerful dog, his actions enabled his sister to escape and his brother, 
Tyler, to run for help. Truly, Adam and Tyler's teamwork to protect 
their little sister prevented what could have been a tragedy. Adam was 
rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital--Hamilton. He lost a 
lot of blood and needed 200 stitches and months to recover.
  Adam's exceptional actions went largely unreported in the news and 
were not well known outside his immediate family and community. That 
changed when he was a guest of the Sunshine Foundation Mercer County 
Chapter's 2018 Operation Dreamlift that takes children to Disney World. 
Trentonian reporter L.A. Parker happened to be on that flight, met Adam 
and heard Adam's story. In a column detailing the dog attack and Adam's 
actions, L.A. Parker--my fellow Trenton State College alumnus, quoted 
Adam as saying ``Yes, I was afraid really afraid. But I had to save my 
sister.''
  Adam is a student at Reynolds Middle School in Hamilton, N.J. I've 
had the pleasure to meet Adam's father, Peter Pietras, who with his 
wife, Lisa Pitoniak-Pietras, and family and friends, are immensely 
proud of Adam. Adam, whose outstanding love for his sister shows he 
puts other people first, has a bright future.
  Adam was honored by Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede with a proclamation as 
an example of a model citizen, and by the Boy Scouts of America with 
its highest national award for lifesaving and meritorious action, the 
Honor Medal With Crossed Palms. Given only for outstanding and unusual 
acts that demonstrate unusual heroism, skill, or bravery and reflect 
Scouting ideals, the medal is only presented to Scouts who have 
``demonstrated unusual heroism and extraordinary skill or 
resourcefulness in saving or attempting to save life at extreme risk to 
self.'' That sounds like Adam to me.
  Today it is my honor to make Adam's heroism and extraordinary act a 
permanent part of the Congressional Record.
  In an age of fictional movie action heroes and comic book 
superheroes, this Saturday a real-life action hero will be the star. If 
Adam were in the military our nation would be looking to bestow one of 
its highest medals for his valor. Well done, Adam, well done.

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