[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 14787-14788]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                JAMES ROBERT KALSU POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3059) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 4500 SE 28th Street, Del City, Oklahoma, as the 
``James Robert Kalsu Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3059

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

     SECTION 1. JAMES ROBERT KALSU POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 4500 SE 28th Street, Del City, Oklahoma, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``James Robert Kalsu 
     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 ``James Robert Kalsu Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support today of H.R. 3059. Congressman Steve Russell, who 
has served this country in a very noble way, has brought this to our 
attention, introduced this bill, and shepherded it through the 
Oversight and Government Reform Committee. We would be honored, I 
think, all of us, to name this post office after such a great American.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) to tell us more about this amazing person.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, this measure is to memorialize the service 
of Bob Kalsu by designating the post office in Del City, Oklahoma, to 
carry his name.
  Bob was born as James Robert Kalsu and attended Del City High School 
in Del City, Oklahoma, my alma mater and my hometown.
  At 6'3" and 235 pounds, he was an All-American offensive tackle in 
1967, playing for the University of Oklahoma as they won the Big Eight 
Conference Title.
  The Buffalo Bills of New York selected him in the eighth round of the 
1968 college draft, but he quickly proved himself by earning the team's 
Rookie of the Year award in his first American football league season 
as guard. It would also be his final season of professional football.
  Bob had made an ROTC commitment, earning a commission in the field 
artillery in college. In late 1969, he was called to duty in the 
Republic of Vietnam.
  He was told that, as a pro football player, arrangements could be 
made where he wouldn't have to serve, but Bob would have none of it.
  He said: I gave my word to my country. Just because I play 
professional football doesn't make me any better of a man or any 
different of a man than the men already serving our country. I'm going 
to live up to that commitment and the word I gave.
  Bob deployed to the 101st Airborne Division, leaving behind his 
beloved wife, Jan, who was pregnant, and a 10-month-old daughter named 
Jill.
  On July 21, 1970, only 8 months into his tour of duty, First 
Lieutenant Bob Kalsu was killed in action at Fire Support Base Ripcord 
on an isolated jungle mountaintop near the Ashau Valley, Thua Thien, 
South Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
  Bob was survived by his wife, Jan, his daughter, Jill, and son, James 
Robert Kalsu, Jr., born 2 days after he was killed in action.
  Bob Kalsu was the only active professional football player killed in 
the Vietnam War.
  He has been further memorialized as the namesake of FOB or Camp Kalsu 
in Iraq, a base where thousands of Americans served from 2003 to 2011.
  As long as we have breath we will remember him. This act allows 
others who live after us to do so as well.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the service of this fallen 
American hero.
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration 
of H.R. 3059, a bill to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service in Del City, Oklahoma, as the James Robert Kalsu Post 
Office Building.
  We have heard about this amazing individual who was blessed with such 
amazing athletic skills, who was selected to play football at the 
University of Oklahoma and received All-American honors in 1967, 
leading his

[[Page 14788]]

team to a 10-1 record and an Orange Bowl win.
  The following year, after being drafted into the NFL, the Buffalo 
Bills, and starting in 9 of his 14 appearances, he was again recognized 
as Rookie of the Year.
  It was more than his efforts on the football field that made Robert 
or Bob Kalsu a standout. He always put others first and chose to lead 
by example. He joined the ROTC at the University of Oklahoma and took 
to heart the pledge he made to serve his country in the Army.
  While many athletes elected to serve in the Reserves, he insisted 
that he was no better than anyone else and choose to serve on Active 
Duty.
  We know that, after 8 months of being stationed in Lawton, Oklahoma, 
Lieutenant Bob Kalsu received orders to go to Vietnam, and less than 1 
year later, in 1970, he was killed by enemy fire.
  It is significant to note he is the only active NFL player to give 
his life in Vietnam and one of only a handful of professional athletes 
to serve in Active Duty, Lieutenant Kalsu is survived by a family and, 
amazingly, a son, who was born just 2 days after his tragic death.
  Mr. Speaker, we should pass this bill to honor this individual, 
Lieutenant Bob Kalsu, and recognize the last full measure of devotion 
he made on behalf of our great country.
  I urge the passage of H.R. 3059.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to say, as this is our last post office 
naming that we have on the floor tonight, that so many of us go to 
postal facilities across the country.
  I was a postal employee for 30 years, and I know the service that is 
given in a Postal Service.
  But the ability to name a building in a community where so many of us 
go, I would like Americans to pause and recognize the names that are 
given to these facilities.
  Do take the time to learn about these individuals. This is done so 
that their service will never be forgotten and that, as we go about our 
day, it is one of the things that we can do to give tribute to make 
sure that their service is not forgotten and to give some comfort to 
the families who lost someone in service to our country.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank Congressman Steve Russell for 
highlighting this person and his life because he truly was an All-
American in every sense of the word.
  He serves as an inspiration to a lot of people, and I do hope that 
his loved ones will remember him fondly for the great sacrifice that he 
gave and commitment that he gave to his country, as did millions of 
other Americans. It is appropriate that we recognize them.
  And, as was said, I do hope that, as Americans, when we go into these 
post offices, we recognize people like Mr. Kalsu, who put everything on 
the line to serve and sacrifice for their country to give us the 
freedoms that we have here today, that we don't take them for granted, 
that there are men and women who serve who step up and answer the call 
of their county. And certainly Mr. Kalsu did that.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3059.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  

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