[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 94 (Monday, June 3, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3557-H3558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORPORAL MICHAEL D. ANDERSON JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING
Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1555) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in Modesto, California, as the
``Corporal Michael D. Anderson Jr. Post Office Building''.
[[Page H3558]]
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1555
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CORPORAL MICHAEL D. ANDERSON JR. POST OFFICE
BUILDING.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in Modesto, California,
shall be known and designated as the ``Corporal Michael D.
Anderson Jr. 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 ``Corporal Michael D. Anderson Jr. Post
Office Building''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.
General Leave
Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may 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 Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. McClintock).
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I am proud to present H.R. 1555 for
consideration today. This measure names the post office in Modesto,
California, in honor and memory of Corporal Michael D. Anderson, Jr.
This bill has the unanimous support of the Modesto City Council, the
Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, the entire California
congressional delegation, and the House Oversight Committee.
There are those who scoff at post office naming bills like this. Such
smug critics simply either don't appreciate or don't understand the
sacrifices that these bills recognize and the heroism behind the events
that give rise to them.
Let me tell you a little bit about the young man this bill honors
today. Mike Anderson was a kid who grew up in Modesto, a farm town in
California's Central Valley that has always maintained the values and
traditions of middle America.
Mike reflected that in every way. He loved skateboarding,
snowboarding, and motorcycles. He loved tinkering with cars and going
camping. Most importantly, he loved his family, his friends, and, above
all, his country.
As he graduated from Johansen High School, he could look forward to a
long and happy lifetime ahead of him. However, in September of that
year, America was attacked. Without hesitation, he stepped forward to
defend his country and all that it stands for--the simple freedoms and
uniquely American values that produce model towns like Modesto and
model citizens like Mike Anderson.
He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he quickly
distinguished himself. He became a member of the Fleet Antiterrorism
Security Teams, or FAST company, an elite Marine Corps team designed to
fight terror around the world. In that capacity, he received a letter
of commendation from U.S. Ambassador James Foley for defending the U.S.
Embassy during riots that were directed at it.
In September 2004, Corporal Anderson deployed to Iraq to participate
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion,
5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division of the First Marine
Expeditionary Force.
The Modesto community rallied around Mike and raised money to ensure
that he had the best equipment available, including three different
sets of protective goggles.
Eleven days before Christmas, on December 14, 2004, Corporal Anderson
was leading marines and Iraqi soldiers in urban clearing operations of
the insurgent-occupied buildings in the city of Fallujah. He was the
first into a stronghold, and there, he was tragically killed in action.
He was 21 years old.
Corporal Anderson had been scheduled to leave Iraq just a few months
later to return to his family, where they had already planned a joyous
family reunion and vacation.
Corporal Anderson showed tremendous bravery and incredible courage
throughout his service and especially on that day, his last day, in
Fallujah, as is reflected in his military decorations, including two
Purple Hearts, the Marine Corps Achievement Medal with the ``V''
attachment for valor, as well as the Combat Action Ribbon.
What stands out the most in the memories of his comrades in arms were
his self-sacrifice and concern for the marines in his squad. His father
remembers: ``He was more worried about telling me about one of the guys
in his unit first before telling me about what happened to him. He felt
that since he was a squad leader, he had to take care of his men
first.''
James Michener's haunting question echoes on such exploits: ``Where
do we get such men?''
We get them from little towns like Modesto, and we get them from
loving families like the Andersons, decent young men and women with
promising futures who are willing to leave the safety and comfort of
hearth and home when their country needs them and to step into harm's
way to protect their families, their neighbors, their countrymen, and,
above all, the cause of freedom.
A more important question is: What would we do without them?
A few feet from here in the Capitol rotunda is a fresco titled: ``The
Apotheosis of Washington.'' It depicts General Washington, in uniform,
ascending to the heavens, flanked by victory and freedom and surrounded
by the essence and fruits of our free Nation.
In that depiction, Washington beckons. From little towns like
Modesto, California, decent young men and women with happy lives and
promising futures, like Mike Anderson, Jr., have answered his call.
I don't know how their families can bear it, but I do know what we
owe them. I do know that we can never repay that debt except to honor
their memory and keep their sacrifice always in mind.
That is what bills like this are all about: to honor and remember
those among us who gave up everything to proclaim liberty throughout
all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.
Madam Speaker, the people of Modesto, California, and the family of
Corporal Anderson, his parents, Angie and Michael Sr., as well as his
two little sisters, Callie and Allie, and a grateful nation ask that
the post office of his hometown be named to honor and memorialize the
life, service, patriotism, heroism, and ultimate sacrifice of Corporal
Michael D. Anderson, Jr., United States Marine Corps.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in very strong support of H.R. 1555 and thank the gentleman
from California for his thoughtful remarks.
Michael Anderson grew up in Modesto and enlisted in the Marine Corps
in 2001. Corporal Anderson deployed to Iraq in September 2004, and he
fought in the second battle of Fallujah. On December 14, 2003, he was
killed in action while leading an operation clearing insurgent-occupied
buildings.
I encourage all of our colleagues to join us in honoring the life of
Corporal Anderson by naming a post office in Modesto after him.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support
this bill honoring an American war hero, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fry). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1555.
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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