[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 18]
[House]
[Pages 23306-23307]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   SERGEANT FIRST CLASS ROBERT LEE ``BOBBY'' HOLLAR, JR. POST OFFICE 
                                BUILDING

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill (S. 4050) to designate the facility of the 
United States Postal Service located at 103 East Thompson Street in 
Thomaston, Georgia, as the ``Sergeant First Class Robert Lee `Bobby' 
Hollar, Jr., Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 4050

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

     SECTION 1. SERGEANT FIRST CLASS ROBERT LEE ``BOBBY'' HOLLAR, 
                   JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 103 East Thompson Street in Thomaston, 
     Georgia, shall be known and designated as the ``Sergeant 
     First Class Robert Lee `Bobby' Hollar, 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 ``Sergeant First Class Robert Lee `Bobby' 
     Hollar, Jr. Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 4050, offered by the gentleman 
from Georgia, Mr. Westmoreland. This bill would name a post office in 
Thomaston, Ga. to honor Sgt. First Class Bobby Lee Hollar, who was 
killed in action while serving our nation in Iraq.
  Sergeant Hollar was the kind of man who makes it possible for 
Americans to live in freedom and his service to his country was nothing 
short of remarkable. He was a Tank Commander in the U.S. Army National 
Guard before joining the 108th Calvary Division in Griffin, Georgia. 
For seven years following that, he worked within the 82nd Airborne 
Division out of Fort Bragg and Colorado Springs. He believed 
passionately in what he did, and at the young age of 35, he died 
entirely too young.
  I would also like to note here that naming this post office in honor 
of Sergeant Hollar is quite befitting, as he dedicated several years of 
his life to the Postal Service before returning to the military and 
deploying to Iraq.

[[Page 23307]]

Friends and family from every part of his life remember his kindness, 
his spirit, and the way he put his heart and soul into everything he 
did. We are so fortunate for the bravery and allegiance of people like 
Sergeant Hollar, and it is with gratitude for his dedication and 
service that I support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland).
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Davis and his 
staff, and to Mr. Davis and the Republican leadership for allowing this 
bill to come to the floor. I also want to thank Senator Isakson for 
handling this bill in the Senate and having it passed.
  Sergeant First Class Robert ``Bobby'' Lee Hollar, Jr., was a loving 
husband, father of two, son, and friend. He was a respected and loved 
brother in arms to his brother soldiers in E Troop 108th Calvary of the 
48th Brigade of the Georgia National Guard and was mobilized and 
deployed as part of the U.S. Army Force Command in Operation Iraqi 
Freedom.
  Sergeant First Class Hollar arrived in Kuwait in May of 2005, and 
only 10 days later went into Baghdad with his fellow troops. His unit 
moved down to assist with missions in the Triangle of Death, and he 
patrolled out of his Forward Operating Base Michael south of Baghdad in 
mid-June 2005. His unit faced tough, hostile conditions in the Triangle 
of Death.
  On September 1, 2005, while on patrol, Sergeant First Class Hollar's 
vehicle was struck by a powerful improvised explosive device. Although 
he survived at the scene and was evacuated to the field hospital for 
emergency surgery and treatment, his injuries were too severe for him 
to survive. He died later that day, leaving his wife Amanda, his 2-
year-old son Wesley, and another son by a previous marriage.
  Sergeant First Class Hollar was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze 
Star. He was awarded various service and achievement awards as well.
  Sergeant First Class Hollar was assigned to the Jonesboro, Georgia, 
Postal Facility and had taken up residence in Thomaston, Georgia. 
Sergeant First Class Hollar had become a pen pal for students at 
Crescent Middle School in Griffin, Georgia. In May of 2005, Sergeant 
Hollar visited the middle school and was accompanied by his then 1-
year-old son, Wesley.
  Sergeant Hollar touched the lives of the fourth and fifth grade 
classes with whom he was a pen pal. These children became very attached 
to Sergeant Hollar as he continued to write them from Iraq.
  On September 2, 2005, their teacher, Katie Cobb, was unfortunately 
faced with the tough task of sharing the horrible news that their 
friend, Sergeant Hollar, had died from an explosive device that hit his 
vehicle.
  That fourth grade class had the chance to know a true American hero. 
Sadly, when the class heard of Sergeant Hollar's death, they learned a 
tragic but important lesson about the high cost of defending freedom.
  According to Ms. Cobb, the students all started crying and were very 
upset about Sergeant Hollar's death. Ms. Cobb stated that she was proud 
that her students became even more appreciative of their freedom from 
knowing Sergeant Hollar. After his death, the students proceeded to 
write their government officials asking that his memory be carried on 
by having the Thomaston Post Office named in his honor.
  It is a rare occasion when a post office can be named for such a 
wonderful individual who was an active postal employee and Active Duty 
servicemember who died while serving his country as an American hero.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members would support S. 4050 in honor of 
this great man.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Government Reform Committee, I am 
pleased to join my colleague in consideration of S. 4050, a bill to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
103 Thompson Street in Thomaston, Georgia as the Sergeant First Class 
Robert Lee ``Bobby'' Hollar, Jr, Post Office Building.
  S. 4050, sponsored by Senator Johnny Isakson, passed the Senate by 
unanimous consent on December 6, 2006.
  Robert Lee ``Bobby'' Hollar was born in Woodstock, Virginia. Hollar 
served in the Georgia National Guard's 108th Infantry Brigade Calvary 
Division based out of Griffin, Georgia, as a tank commander in Iraq. 
Prior to his service in the 108th Calvary Regiment, Hollar was a member 
of the 82nd Airborne Division, and he was a military scout before that.
  Mr. Hollar also was a dedicated public servant. He served as a 
devoted postal letter carrier for years before being deployed to Iraq.
  Mr. Hollar was killed in Iraq on September 1, 2005, when a roadside 
improvised explosive device exploded along the Humvee in which he was 
riding. Mr. Hollar was 35 years old when he was killed in action. No 
greater service can one give to their country than to be killed in its 
defense. I urge passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I would like to respectfully recognize 
and thank Senator Chambliss for his efforts with Senator Isakson to 
have S. 4050 passed in the Senate. Both Senators played an important 
role in seeing that S. 4050 was promptly passed in the Senate so the 
bill could be addressed in the House before the adjournment of the 
109th Congress.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 4050.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds of those voting having 
responded in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the Senate 
bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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