[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15850]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING 12 MEMBERS OF THE 1ST SQUAD, 2ND PLATOON, HOTEL COMPANY OF THE 
                          26TH MARINE REGIMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Vela) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. VELA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 12 members of the 1st 
Squad, 2nd Platoon, Hotel Company of the 26th Marine Regiment. These 
brave men made an important contribution to the war effort in Vietnam, 
but their efforts could not be honored at the time without exposing 
ongoing intelligence operations. Like so many of our Nation's heroes, 
they have not received the recognition they deserve, and I am here 
today to share with my colleagues in Congress and our entire Nation the 
details of an incident that helped change the way the Vietnam war was 
fought.
  On May 29, 1967, at the end of Operation Hickory and the beginning of 
Operation Prairie IV, the 1st Squad, under Sergeant Thomas Gonzalez, 
was on a reconnaissance patrol when they recovered a spent Russian SA-2 
surface-to-air missile inside the demilitarized zone which divided 
North and South Vietnam. While Russian involvement in the Vietnam war 
was widely suspected, discovery of the SA-2 was a major find, and the 
command and control mechanism of the missile was transported to 
Washington, D.C., for analysis.
  Due to the ongoing cold war and heightened political sensitivities 
regarding Russian involvement in the war, public disclosure of the 
incident was withheld.
  While the unit was never fully recognized for its accomplishment, the 
intelligence it collected had a direct impact on combat. Prior to 
discovery of the missile, U.S. aviators flying B-52 bombers to attack 
Vietnam struggled as enemy forces became more proficient at targeting 
and shooting American aircraft. This forced Americans to limit their 
missions to areas further south; and, as the North Vietnamese Army 
continued to move their surface-to-air missile launch sites south into 
the DMZ, B-52 aircraft were forced to fly even further south, limiting 
the effectiveness of their missions to provide support to troops 
engaged in ground combat.
  As a result of the recovery of the SA-2 missile, B-52 bomber crews 
had a better understanding of the threat, and they used the 
intelligence collected by the 1st Squad to alter their tactics. 
Changing the strategy of the B-52 bomb strikes allowed the aircraft to 
provide better combat support to marines and other ground troops and 
ultimately saved countless lives.
  Forty-six years later, it is time for our Nation to recognize these 
American heroes. Today, let us honor these men: Sergeant Thomas 
Gonzalez, Corporal Gerald D. Eggers, Private First Class Ronald W. 
Blaine, Private First Class Charles L. Melton, Private First Class 
Albino Martinez, Private First Class Anthony Astuccio, Private First 
Class Richard P. Light, Private First Class Michael McCombs, Private 
First Class Hector L. R. Rodriguez, Private First Class Lloyd Parker, 
Private First Class Thomas J. Lehner, and Navy Corpsman Mel Overmyer.
  These young men, like so many of their generation, answered our 
Nation's call to service. They risked their lives in defense of their 
comrades in arms and our Nation. We owe them a great debt of gratitude 
for all that they have done, and I stand here before Congress in 
recognition of their accomplishment and their sacrifice.

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