[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 10983-10984]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING JOHN JESSE SALDANA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES A. GONZALEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 2010

  Mr. GONZALEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor John Jesse 
Saldana, Sr., a civil servant, community leader, and former serviceman 
who passed away June 9, 2010.
  Mr. Saldana made history through both his illustrious postal career 
and military service. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 45 
years and was appointed to the position of postmaster on December 7, 
1974. Mr. Saldana was the first Spanish-surnamed postmaster since 1836 
and was the first merit postmaster in the nation. He worked not only as 
the Postmaster of San Antonio, but as the manager for the San Antonio 
Sectional Center covering a service area of 33,000 square miles, 226 
post offices and 4,527 employees in South Texas. He was named 
``Postmaster of the Year'' in 1983.
  As a Combat Infantry Officer in the European Theater during World War 
II, Mr. Saldana was wounded twice in action in the Huertgen Forest and 
in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was the sole survivor of his unit. 
For his valiance and heroism in service, he was awarded a Bronze Star 
and two Purple Hearts with Oak Leaf Cluster.
  Mr. Saldana also tirelessly worked to preserve the history and 
cultural heritage of San Antonio. Mr. Saldana served as president of 
the Canary Island Descendants Association and the Harp and Shamrock 
Society. In 1981, he was named by the Islenos Canarios Committee as the 
Chairman of the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the Villa de San 
Fernando. He was also a lifetime member of the Sons of the Republic of 
Texas. Mr. Saldana also worked to preserve our nation's military 
history by returning to his alma mater, Lanier High School, of which he 
was Valedictorian of the Class of 1939, to meet with students each 
Veteran's Day. Lanier honored him as one of the first to be 
commemorated on their ``Wall of Fame.''

[[Page 10984]]

  Additionally, Mr. Saldana was very active in many church, civic, and 
philanthropic organizations. He was a life-long Oblate Associate and 
was presented with the Oblate cross in 1973 for his active 
participation with the Oblate fathers. He was a founding board member 
of Sisters Care of San Antonio, a ministry which offers in-home 
assistance to many elderly who are ineligible for government 
assistance. He was a director of the United Way and the Vice-Chairman 
of the combined federal campaign. He was also a member of the San 
Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
  San Antonio has suffered a great loss and it is my humble honor to 
rise to recognize the many contributions that Mr. Saldana has made in 
his lifetime and to extend my thoughts and prayers to his family.

                          ____________________