[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15091-15092]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ROY H. BOEHM POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 2470) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 19190 Cochran Boulevard FRNT in Port Charlotte, 
Florida, as the ``Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office 
Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2470

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

     SECTION 1. LIEUTENANT COMMANDER ROY H. BOEHM POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 19190 Cochran Boulevard FRNT in Port 
     Charlotte, Florida, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm 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 ``Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post 
     Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Bilbray) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform, I stand for the consideration of H.R. 2470, legislation that 
designates the United States Postal Service facility located at 19190 
Cochran Boulevard, FRNT, in Port Charlotte, Florida, as the 
``Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office Building''.
  Introduced by Representative Thomas J. Rooney on May 18, 2009, and 
reported out of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee on June 
4, 2009, by unanimous consent, H.R. 2470 enjoys the support of 
Florida's entire House congressional delegation.
  A longtime resident of Punta Gorda, Florida, Lieutenant Commander Roy 
Boehm served with distinction in the United States Navy for over 30 
years. Lieutenant Commander Boehm enlisted in the United States Navy in 
April of 1941 at the age of 17. His subsequent and remarkable Navy 
career included service in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam 
War, and resulted in his receipt of nearly 30 military awards, 
including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with Valor Device and the 
Meritorious Service Medal.
  Notably, Lieutenant Commander Boehm's extensive combat experience 
over the course of three wars led him to determine that highly 
specialized and diverse training would give his men a significant 
tactical advantage in the conduct of unconventional warfare. 
Accordingly, in 1960, Lieutenant Commander Boehm began developing, 
designing and assembling an elite special operations unit within the 
United States Navy that would later become known as the Navy SEALs. In 
fact, Commander Boehm was the first officer in charge of the Navy SEAL 
team, which is why he became known as the first United States Navy 
SEAL.
  United States Navy Admiral Whitey Taylor acknowledged Lieutenant 
Commander Boehm's influence on the SEAL program in a 1997 letter to 
Boehm where it says, ``John F. Kennedy was right. The U.S. Navy SEALs 
will bear your mark as long as they and the freedom they fight for 
continues to exist,'' wrote Admiral Taylor.
  In addition to his distinguished military service, Lieutenant 
Commander Boehm was equally admired for his longstanding support of 
military veterans within his Punta Gorda community.
  Regrettably, Lieutenant Commander Boehm passed away on December 30, 
2008, at his Punta Gorda home at the age of 84. It is my hope that we 
can somehow honor his outstanding legacy and service to our country 
through the passage of H.R. 2470 and by designating the Port Charlotte 
Postal Facility on Cochran Boulevard in his honor.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2470.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 2470, legislation to have the United 
States Post Office Building located at Port Charlotte, Florida, 
designated as the Lieutenant Commander Roy H. Boehm Post Office.
  Mr. Speaker, there are many accomplishments that Lieutenant Commander 
Boehm made as he served this country in many ways, as the gentleman 
from Massachusetts has pointed out. But for me personally, as somebody 
who grew up in a neighborhood full of United States SEAL team members, 
the San Diego area and specifically the Coronado area, I would just 
like to say that Commander Boehm is going to go down in history as a 
man who transformed what was the UDT, basically the Underwater 
Demolition Team, transformed that concept into what we know today as 
the SEALs.
  I think today that we need to take this action not just for the 
commander, but for the men that serve every day as SEAL team members 
out there that you will not hear about. But their deeds are great and 
many. But we don't hear about them, mostly because so many of them are 
covert.

                              {time}  1530

  I have to say that from everything, from saving the victims of piracy 
to defending our camps around the world, the SEALs have proven their 
value to this country. Commander Boehm made this possible, and I think 
that is why it's so appropriate that we join today in naming this post 
office. Today the Navy SEALs are known around the world, but when the 
commander started, nobody even hardly knew what a UDT member was. And 
largely because of Commander Boehm, we can thank the entire service 
that we know now today as the SEALs.
  I ask my fellow Members of Congress to join me in honoring Commander

[[Page 15092]]

Boehm by recognizing his many life achievements, his valor, his 
contribution to the armed services of the United States and, 
particularly, through his participation in the creation of that group 
the world knows as the United States Navy SEALs.
  I reserve my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers on this. I 
continue to reserve our time.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, at this time I will yield back the 
remainder of my time.
  Mr. LYNCH. I thank the gentleman from California for his words in 
support of this measure.
  I also want to thank Congressman Rooney for being the lead sponsor 
here, the gentleman from Florida.
  In closing, I again urge my colleagues to join me in honoring 
Lieutenant Commander Roy Boehm for his good work through the passage of 
H.R. 2470.
  Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, I think it is appropriate that my first bill 
to be considered on the House floor is to honor a distinguished veteran 
who passed away in December of last year. Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) 
Roy Boehm was a true American hero and longtime resident of Punta 
Gorda, FL which I am honored to represent.
  Mr. Boehm was a retired Navy Lt. Commander and was the first officer 
in charge of SEAL Team 2, one of the original Navy SEAL teams. Many 
would say that he was the first SEAL.
  H.R. 2470 names the post office located at 19190 Cochran Blvd. in 
Port Charlotte after Lieutenant Commander Boehm. LCDR Boehm enlisted in 
the Navy in 1941 and fought during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In 
1942, he participated in the Battle of Cape Esperance and Guadalcanal 
during WWII. He also was involved in action in Kerama Reto and Okinawa.
  During his service, LCDR Boehm obtained qualifications in deep sea 
diving, deep submergence rescue chamber operator for submarine rescue, 
experimental diving, and salvage diving. He graduated from both 
Airborne and Ranger Training.
  In 1961, under orders from President Kennedy LCDR Boehm developed and 
launched the Navy's elite Sea, Air, and Land forces unit known as the 
SEALs. LCDR Roy Boehm set the standard for the Navy SEALs of today and 
he is missed.
  Mr. LYNCH. I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2470.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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