[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 161 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4941-H4942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WILLIAM L. REYNOLDS POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 292) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 24355 Creekside Road in Santa Clarita, California, 
as the ``William L. Reynolds Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 292

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

     SECTION 1. WILLIAM L. REYNOLDS POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 24355 Creekside Road in Santa Clarita, 
     California, shall be known and designated as the ``William L. 
     Reynolds Post Office Building''.
       (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 ``William L. Reynolds Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Comer) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COMER. 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 on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill which would name a post 
office in Santa Clarita, California, after William ``Bill'' Reynolds.
  William served in the Vietnam war and earned both the Purple Heart 
and Bronze Star. After serving, he moved with his wife, Meg, to the 
Santa Clarita Valley, where Reynolds dedicated his life to advocating 
for his fellow veterans.
  Reynolds passed away in 2021 after organizing the memorial wall at 
Veterans Plaza in Newhall and accompanying the U.S. President to Da 
Nang in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war.
  Mr. Speaker, I support naming a post office in Bill Reynolds' memory. 
I am proud to honor his life of service to the American people and work 
to memorialize the memory of America's veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 292, to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 24355 Creekside 
Road in Santa Clarita, California, as the William L. Reynolds Post 
Office Building.
  William Reynolds, better known as Bill, was brought up in the San 
Fernando Valley. He was the son of a World War I veteran.
  Following high school graduation and just before his 20th birthday, 
he followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted in the U.S. Army 
during the Vietnam war. He served in the 9th Infantry Division and is 
recalled as one of the few surviving servicemembers of the Charlie 
Company's ``Boys of `67.'' For his heroic service, Mr. Reynolds earned 
a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
  After receiving an honorable discharge, Mr. Reynolds moved to the 
Santa Clarita Valley in California with his wife, Meg. He spent the 
remaining years of his adult life as an influential supporter of 
veterans.
  In addition to his military accolades, he is remembered for single-
handedly organizing a local effort to construct a memorial wall at the 
Veterans Plaza to honor Santa Clarita Valley veterans from World War I 
to the present day.
  He also traveled to Da Nang, Vietnam, with a veteran delegation led 
by a former President to honor the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war. 
As a passionate advocate for Santa Clarita Valley's local veteran 
community, he became a high-profile historian as director of veterans 
affairs for two Santa Clarita-based news journals, publishing more than 
100 different biographies of local veterans in his community.
  On January 11, 2021, Mr. Reynolds passed away. I encourage my 
colleagues to join me in honoring the distinguished life of Mr. 
Reynolds by naming a post office in Santa Clarita, California, after 
him.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr.  Mike Garcia).
  Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Comer 
and Ranking Member Raskin for their support on this very special bill 
for a real, true American hero.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 292, to name the post 
office in Valencia, California, after a true American patriot, Mr. Bill 
Reynolds.
  This is a fitting tribute for someone who gave so much over the 
course of his life to this beautiful Nation. While his military service 
and heroism in the jungles of Vietnam with the famous Charlie Company 
warrant this honor alone, it was his tireless commitment to recognizing 
his fellow brothers and sisters in arms that cemented him as a lion in 
the veterans' community.
  A lifelong resident of Southern California, Bill was drafted for 
service shortly after graduating from high school and went on to join 
the Army's Charlie Company, 9th Division, 4th Battalion, 47th Infantry 
Regiment. The ``Boys of `67'' is what they were known as.
  Bill was a part of the only division to be raised, drafted, and 
trained for service in the Vietnam war. Despite being wounded in action 
in June of 1967, he continued fighting alongside his friends, defending 
his friends in the Mekong Delta, and was ultimately awarded the Purple 
Heart and Bronze Star for his bravery.
  After his service, he embraced his proud identity of being a U.S. 
veteran and took every opportunity to advocate and support his brothers 
and sisters who served. He was one of the very

[[Page H4942]]

first ambassadors for the Greatest Generations Foundation, he served as 
a member of the local American Legion Post, and he was a member of the 
Santa Clarita Veterans' Day Committee.
  During the last decade of his life, Bill cemented his legacy as the 
most passionate and high-profile veterans advocate in the Santa Clarita 
Valley. He was single-handedly responsible for the installment of a 
memorial wall at the Veterans Plaza in Newhall, California. He 
accompanied the President and fellow veterans to Da Nang to commemorate 
the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war. He also worked as the director 
of veterans affairs for the two largest news publications in Santa 
Clarita.
  As director of veterans affairs for both the Santa Clarita Signal and 
KHTS Radio, Bill Reynolds served as the historian for local veterans, 
writing more than 100 profiles in courage of hometown heroes; something 
that they could share with their families and relive their legacies.
  Bill was also a devoted husband to the love of his life, Meg, and was 
a loving father and grandfather to his children and grandchildren.
  Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, our Nation is simply better because of 
Bill Reynolds. He embodied the very values that America was founded on 
and continues to hold to this day: love of country, grit, and service 
above all else.
  Patriots like Bill Reynolds make the United States the greatest 
country in history. A small tribute like naming a post office after him 
is the least we can do. The debt of gratitude Americans owe to Bill 
Reynolds can never fully be paid.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me and pass this very 
special bill to honor a true American hero.
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge passage 
of H.R. 292, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, as the son of a veteran who served in Vietnam 
during the Vietnam war, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 292.
  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.

                          ____________________