[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING LAYLA LEUTHY-PECK'S GOOD DEED

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 21, 2024

  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an 
outstanding accomplishment and good deed from a constituent from my 
district, Layla Leuthy-Peck.
  Layla Leuthy-Peck is a 7-year-old first grade student at Saint 
Andrew's School in Newtown. After listening to Monsignor Michael 
Picard, pastor at St. Andrew's parish, telling the children about the 
importance of finding a way to serve others, she immediately thought of 
her best friend WW2 veteran Joe Gagliardi who was about to turn 100.
  She remembered Joe telling her how much he misses visiting schools to 
tell the students about his service and the importance of service. He 
especially misses receiving all the wonderful handmade thank you cards 
from them afterwards.
  With the help of her entire first grade classmates, Layla was able to 
get 100 handmade birthday cards for Joe's 100th birthday. To make it a 
day he will remember, Layla delivered the sack of cards to Joe riding 
in a Newtown firetruck which was escorted by the township police and 
many other emergency service vehicles in a parade of lights and sirens.
  Mr. Gagliardi served in the United States Navy during WW2 on a Patrol 
Torpedo (PT) Boat that escorted General Douglas MacArthur and remembers 
seeing President John F. Kennedy on his PT Boat duty near him. Layla's 
father Sean Peck is an also a Veteran who served in Afghanistan and is 
currently a police officer in Penndel. Her great-grandfather, Ray 
Leuthy, a Corporal in the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division, 
parachuted into the Battle of the Bulge and was an escort driver for 
General George S. Patton, Jr.
  The news story about Layla's special card delivery for her best 
friend has spread internationally along with her wish for more children 
to do a good deed for a veteran.
  Layla's commitment to figuring out a creative and meaningful way to 
serve a WW2 veteran in a truly collaborative manner is to be commended. 
It is my hope that Layla will continue to find ways to serve veterans 
and be an example for other very young children to realize they too can 
make a difference. I would like to wish Layla the best in her future 
endeavors and once again congratulate her on fulfilling her mission to 
brighten the day for her best friend, Joe on his 100th birthday.

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