[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4922]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING DR. JOHN RAY TAITANO ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT 
       FROM THE GUAM ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, AND COMMEMORATING HIS 
             ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND DEDICATION TO HIS COUNTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 4, 2006

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my dear 
friend, Dr. John Ray Taitano on the occasion of his retirement from the 
Guam Army National Guard after twenty three years of service as a 
patriot and to express the gratitude and appreciation of the people of 
Guam and America for his accomplishments and his dedication to his 
country and the freedoms all Americans enjoy.
  Dr. Taitano, even as he completed his college education at the 
University of Guam in 1968, was ever mindful of his duty to country, 
and continued his pursuit of a military career through the U.S. Army 
Engineer's Officer Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, VA, from where he 
was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and then soon after deployed to 
Viet Nam where he served from 1971 to 1972. After that deployment and 
service, Dr. Taitano pursued his lifelong desire to continue serving 
his people as a doctor of medicine through the University of Hawaii's 
School of Medicine from where he was the first Chamorro graduate. He 
soon after returned to Guam to establish, with three fellow Chamorro 
doctors, the Family Medical Clinic, which eventually became The 
Doctors' Clinic, one of Guam's premier private medical clinics serving 
over 15,000 island patients. Today, John Ray Taitano continues to serve 
The Doctors' Clinic as a staff physician, stockholder and member of its 
Board of Directors.
  Despite his busy schedule at The Doctors' Clinic, Dr. John Ray 
Taitano continued to serve his community through the years in many 
ways. As President of the Guam Memorial Hospital Medical Staff and 
Chairman of the Hospital's Medical Executive Committee; as President of 
the Guam Medical Society; as President of the Government of Guam's 
Commission on Licensure; as President of the Guam Heart Association; 
and as his latest adventure; as President of the Guam Veterans' 
Advisory Council. But his love for his country, and the men and women 
who proudly wear its uniforms, continued to motivate him to even 
greater personal accomplishments.
  In 1983, Dr. Taitano was commissioned as a Captain of the Guam Army 
National Guard and became its first, and only, State Surgeon. He served 
as the chief advisor to eight (8) Adjutant Generals on all command 
medical matters and has ensured that all 800 plus personnel are 
medically qualified for deployment worldwide. He became the Senior 
Medical Officer of the Command, a position and responsibility he has 
held since 1997.
  In pursuit of the best health for the soldiers under his watch, Dr. 
Taitano championed elimination of smoking inside all buildings of the 
Guam National Guard and established the first unit physical training 
program for MEDCOM, in addition to and apart from the Command PT 
program.
  While serving as the Senior Medical Officer of the Guam Guard, 
Colonel Taitano attended the U.S. Army War College where he graduated 
in June 2001 with a Master of Strategic Studies. The War College has 
honed to an even keener edge, Colonel Taitano's strategic planning and 
leadership skills in preparation for assuming positions as a general 
officer.
  Despite already serving his country in the Viet Nam Conflict, for 
which he received numerous awards and commendations, Dr. Taitano did 
not shy away from the call to again serve his country in battle. In 
2005, Colonel Taitano again responded to the call of duty with service 
in Operation Iraqi Freedom, fighting alongside our country's soldiers 
and attending to their medical needs as a Medical Corp Officer with the 
199th Troop Medical Clinic of the 256 Brigade Combat Team of the 
Louisiana Army National Guard. Upon his retirement, many of our island 
people will look on John Ray Taitano's distinguished career with 
justified pride. Many of those who call him DOCTOR will be relieved at 
his retirement from the Guard; and many in the Guard will be saddened 
that a fellow soldier who championed their health causes has chosen to 
retire. But in the minds of all of these will always abide that 
knowledge that John Ray Taitano will forever be an outstanding doctor 
of medicine and always an untiring and unwavering patriot, soldier and 
defender of the American way of life. May God Bless Dr. Taitano as we 
all wish him the best upon retirement with a heartfelt, Si Yu'os 
Ma'ase.

                          ____________________