[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7324-7325]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ROSE BARGAS MYERS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 20, 2005

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, today to honor a constituent who lived in 
my district and has overcome incredible obstacles to grasp the 
opportunities America holds, Rose Bargas Myers.
  She came to the U.S. as an infant accompanied by her mother. Her 
biological father had died and her mother later abandoned her to be 
raised by her grandparents.
  This individual was nurtured in the loving home of Alberto and 
Pauline Bargas who understood all too well the cost of America's 
freedom. A deep love of country ran deep with her grandparents who were 
immigrants themselves.
  In addition, her grandfather served in the Army during WWII, the 
Korean War and in Vietnam. He was a Prisoner of War survivor having 
lived through what is called the ``Death March of Bataan.'' This Death 
March has been described as one of the most tragic and irresponsible 
episodes in the entire war, for which her grandfather simply commented, 
``Thank God, I survive.''

[[Page 7325]]

  Life was spent growing up in Killeen, Texas and believing that her 
grandparents were her birth parents until she was legally adopted in 
1973.
  She also believed that she was a United States Citizen because the 
adoption judge had declared her a citizen. It was only last year that 
she discovered the judge did not have authority to grant her 
citizenship.
  Today, I want to recognize Rose Bargas Myers and present to her an 
American Flag that has waved in her honor over the U.S. Capitol 
Building in Washington, D.C. and to be among the first to congratulate 
and welcome her into the family of Americans.

                          ____________________