[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 149 (Saturday, August 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H4254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PAYING TRIBUTE TO GSGT DIEGO PONGO

  (Mr. GARCIA of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GARCIA of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to a fallen warrior and a true American hero from the beautiful 25th 
District of California. Gunnery Sergeant Diego Pongo of Simi Valley was 
killed in action by enemy fire in the Makhmur Mountains of Iraq back on 
March 8 of this year. Diego was a marine and part of the elite MARSOC 
Raiders unit charged with eliminating entrenched bastions of ISIS in 
Iraq.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  August 22, 2020, on page H4254, the following appeared: (Mr. 
Garcia of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.) Mr. GARCIA of California. Madam Speaker,
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: (Mr. Garcia of 
California asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.) Mr. GARCIA of California. Madam Speaker,


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  Because of delays as a result of the COVID pandemic, Gunnery Sergeant 
Pongo's funeral and formal ceremony were held just 2 days ago at the 
hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery.
  I had the unfortunate honor to attend services along with his family. 
My thoughts and prayers are with Diego and his family, his parents, 
Kathryn and Carlos; his brothers, Andres and Jorge; his ex-wife, Randi; 
and most of all his beautiful 8-year-old daughter, Avery.
  Madam Speaker, we lost a true American patriot and a hero, and we, as 
a nation, are eternally indebted to him and his family. May we never 
forget.

                          ____________________