[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



               Honoring Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza

  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of David Lee 
Espinoza, who died in defense of our Nation on August 26.
  David was a marine who was helping with the evacuation of the Kabul 
airport when he was murdered by a suicide bomber, along with 12 other 
service men and women who so senselessly had their lives taken from 
them that day. His mother got the call that every parent of every 
servicemember fears when she was told at 2:30 in the morning that her 
son had lost his life in Afghanistan.
  David was just 20 years old. David was a lifelong Texan. He was born 
in Laredo and raised nearby in Rio Bravo, where he was the eldest of 
four children.
  David always wanted to be a marine. And as a child, he loved to 
consider different military strategies as he played with toy soldiers. 
David joined the Marines the summer after he graduated from LBJ High 
School in Laredo in 2019, and he spent time serving in Jordan before 
being sent to Kabul the week before he died. It has been said that 
other service branches wanted David to join their ranks, but David 
always knew he was meant to be a marine.
  David was a beloved son, a brother, a friend, and a fellow marine. He 
was a patriot who had a passion for service, and our Nation can never 
repay the debt that we owe to David and to his family for giving what 
President Lincoln hailed as ``the last full measure of devotion.''
  Yesterday, at David's funeral mass, Father Francisco Stodola said:

       As tragic as this loss is, and as deep as the wounds of 
     sorrow have pierced the hearts of his loved ones, and 
     particularly his mother--because a mother would rather lose 
     an arm or a leg than to have to lose a child--we can console 
     ourselves with the fact that David died doing what he wanted 
     to do with the people he wanted to do it with.

  We will remember David and the incredible sacrifice he gave for our 
country. He will also be remembered by his community. The Laredo City 
Council has already voted to name the road in front of LBJ High School, 
David's alma mater, as the ``Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza Memorial 
Boulevard.''
  To David's parents, Elizabeth Holguin and Victor Manuel Dominguez, 
and to his siblings, Angel Martin Espinoza, Victor Manuel Dominguez, 
Jr., and Delilah Alyssa Dominguez, I want to say that your son and your 
brother was a brave patriot who will never be forgotten. Heidi and I 
are lifting you up in prayer as you mourn the loss of your beloved 
David.
  The 91st Psalm is sometimes called the soldier's or the warrior's 
psalm because it asks the Lord for protection against many foes, and it 
assures us that the Lord will be with us in times of trouble:

       Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him;
       I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
       He will call on me, and I will answer him;
       I will be with him in trouble,
       I will deliver him and honor him.

  David's sacrifice was not in vain. He died as he lived, giving of 
himself in the service of others. David now rests from his labors, 
having been a good and faithful servant.
  And to the families of all of those whose lives were lost in 
Afghanistan this year and in the 20 years that preceded it, know that 
your sacrifice, know that your loss was not in vain. America is better. 
America is safer. American lives are more secure because your sons and 
daughters answered the call. America is better and safer and more 
secure because David Espinoza answered the call. Texas and America are 
better for having known him, and we are in his debt.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.