[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING CAPTAIN MOISES NAVAS AND GUNNERY SERGEANT DIEGO PONGO

  (Mr. NEWHOUSE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Madam Speaker, Captain Moises Navas and Gunnery 
Sergeant Diego Pongo, both Marine Raiders, lost their lives on March 8 
while on a mission to eliminate ISIS terrorists in Iraq.
  I met Captain Navas last year when he spoke at a ceremony to rename a 
local post office in honor of his fallen comrade, Sergeant Dietrich 
Schmieman, a central Washington native.
  With great poise and humility, the captain said at the time: ``We can 
all sleep well and find comfort in knowing that it is Americans who 
raise their hands; this Nation's defense is in the hands of guys such 
as Dietrich Schmieman.''
  Madam Speaker, it is imperative that we not lose sight of the fact 
that, as we speak, the brave men and women of our Armed Forces are 
standing guard to keep our Nation safe.
  Today, I rise to echo those powerful words from a brave young 
captain, pictured here alongside Sergeant Schmieman's parents at the 
post office dedication, to say that we can indeed sleep soundly because 
of heroes like Moises, Diego, and Dietrich.

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