[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 158 (Monday, September 14, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4364-H4365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ERNEST ``ERNIE'' T. PYLE POST OFFICE

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4734) to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 171 South Maple Street in 
Dana, Indiana, as the ``Ernest `Ernie' T. Pyle Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4734

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

     SECTION 1. ERNEST ``ERNIE'' T. PYLE POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 171 South Maple Street in Dana, Indiana, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Ernest `Ernie' T. Pyle 
     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 ``Ernest `Ernie' T. Pyle Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Cloud) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration 
of H.R. 4734 to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 171 South Maple Street in Dana, Indiana, as the 
Ernest Taylor Pyle Post Office Building.
  Ernest or ``Ernie'' Pyle began his career in media writing for 
Indiana University's campus student newspaper, the Indiana Daily 
Student.
  Mr. Pyle took a job as a reporter for the La Porte Herald in Indiana, 
moving through a variety of publications, before working with the 
Scripps-Howard News Service where he covered aviation and travel 
throughout the 1930s.
  But it was during World War II that Mr. Pyle made his greatest 
contributions to American journalism and the American war effort.
  Beginning in 1942, Mr. Pyle began reporting from the front lines of 
both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war, bringing the experiences 
and stories of soldiers back home to America.
  His simple storytelling style of writing and first-person 
perspectives endeared him to Americans back home and abroad alike.
  His reporting led directly to congressional legislation that provided 
combat infantry with an additional $5 to $10 a month to compensate them 
for more dangerous positions. This benefit would eventually lead to the 
creation of combat pay as we know it today.
  Through the course of the war, Mr. Pyle wrote and reported from the 
front lines in battles ranging from Anzio in Italy, to the beaches of 
Normandy on D-Day, to Okinawa in the Pacific.
  Near the end of the war on April 18, 1945, Mr. Pyle was reporting on 
the U.S. Army's 305th Infantry Regiment in the South Pacific when he 
was killed by enemy fire.
  Following his death, President Harry Truman stated, ``No man in this 
war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American 
fighting men wanted it told.''
  Ernie Pyle was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for journalism for his 
correspondence in the war, as well as the Medal for Merit and the 
Purple Heart posthumously. Today his legacy lives on through his 
depictions of soldiers in World War II.

[[Page H4365]]

  I thank the honorable gentleman from Indiana for this legislation to 
honor this American patriot and hero.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 4734, which would name an Indiana Post 
Office after Ernest T. Pyle.
  Ernie Pyle was born near Dana, Indiana. After graduating from high 
school, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve before attending Indiana 
University. At Indiana University he studied economics and journalism 
and wrote for the student newspaper.
  During World War II, Pyle served as a war correspondent. He reported 
from the front lines of both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war. 
His accounts from the front helped provide Americans with valuable 
unseen perspectives of war.
  His reporting helped lead to the creation of combat pay. Near the end 
of the war in April 1945, Pyle was reporting on the island of Iejima 
when he was killed by a lone Japanese machine gunner. He was awarded 
the Pulitzer Prize for journalism, as well as the Medal for Merit and 
the Purple Heart.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Bucshon).
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 
4734, which will designate the United States Post Office at 171 South 
Maple Street in Dana, Indiana, as the Ernest `Ernie' Taylor Pyle Post 
Office.
  I was proud to introduce this legislation with the support of the 
entire Indiana delegation to honor the life and achievements of a great 
Hoosier.
  Born in Dana, Indiana, on August 3, 1900, Ernie Pyle was one of the 
most beloved and impactful war correspondents in World War II. 
Beginning in 1942, Pyle began reporting from the front lines in battles 
ranging from Anzio in Italy, to the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, to 
Okinawa in the Pacific. It was here that he brought the experiences and 
stories of the everyday soldier back home to America. His simple 
storytelling style and first-person perspectives endeared him to 
Americans back home and abroad alike.
  While reporting from Italy, Pyle wrote in his column that our troops 
in combat should receive additional compensation for risking their 
lives as he was doing, eventually prompting Congress to pass a bill 
nicknamed ``The Ernie Pyle Bill'' that provided combat infantry with an 
additional $5 to $10 a month. This benefit would eventually lead to the 
creation of combat pay as we know it today.
  Near the end of the war on April 18, 1945, Pyle was reporting on the 
U.S. Army's 305th Infantry Regiment on the island of Iejima when he was 
killed by Japanese gunfire. Following his death, President Harry Truman 
stated, ``No man in this war has so well told the story of the American 
fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told.''
  Ernie Pyle was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for journalism for his war 
correspondence as well as the Medal for Merit and the Purple Heart 
posthumously.
  Today his legacy lives on through the work of dedicated nonprofit 
organizations and in museums and libraries, such as the Ernie Pyle 
Library in New Mexico that has been designated a national historic 
landmark and the Ernie Pyle World War II Museum in his home town of 
Dana, Indiana, in my congressional district.
  I am grateful to this body for taking up this legislation to honor 
the legacy of a great Hoosier and an American hero. I urge a ``yes'' 
vote on this bill.
  Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 4734, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4734.
  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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