[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 378-379]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

     RECOGNIZING THE ``MAJOR CHARLES ROBERT SOLTES JR., O.D. BLIND 
                        REHABILITATION CENTER''

 Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to commemorate the 
dedication of the ``Major Charles Robert Soltes Jr., O.D. Department of 
Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center.''
  As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 111th 
Congress, I strongly supported the bill that ultimately became P.L. 
111-164. That law designated the Department of Veterans Affairs Blind 
Rehabilitation Center in Long Beach, CA, as the ``Major Charles Robert 
Soltes, Jr., O.D. Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation 
Center.''
  Naming this facility after MAJ Charles Robert Soltes, Jr. is an 
appropriate expression of our support for our blinded veterans. In 
2004, while deployed in Iraq, MAJ Soltes was serving in the 426th Civil 
Affairs Battalion in the U.S. Army when the vehicle he was traveling in 
was struck by an improvised explosive device, costing him his life.
  MAJ Soltes was the first Army optometrist to be killed in action 
while on active duty. He left behind a long-lasting legacy in the 
veteran community. His sacrifices remain an inspiration, particularly 
amongst the approximately 157,000 veterans in the United States who are 
legally blind and the more than one million veterans suffering from 
debilitating low vision.
  Mr. President, I was the son of a World War II veteran and before 
entering public service, I practiced optometry in Rogers, AR. With that 
background, I hold an immense respect for, and a particularly strong 
interest in, the care that VA blind rehabilitation centers provide our 
wounded warriors. Approximately 60 percent of veterans with known 
combat-related Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and 30 percent with

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noncombat-related TBI report vision symptoms. As eye injuries continue 
to plague our servicemembers overseas, our VA eye care providers play a 
vital role in the medical service our veterans receive.
  This week, the VA health care system adds one more location where 
those who have given so much for our freedoms can seek help with their 
vision problems. The dedication of this facility as the ``Major Charles 
Robert Soltes Jr., O.D. Department of Veterans Affairs Blind 
Rehabilitation Center'' is a fitting tribute to a fallen hero who 
committed his life to our country and the health and wellbeing of his 
fellow Americans. The service and sacrifice of MAJ Soltes will not be 
forgotten and his dedication to country and mankind will live on 
through the increased care for our Nation's blind veterans.

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