[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7961-7963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    DESIGNATING A MOUNTAIN IN THE JOHN MUIR WILDERNESS AS SKY POINT

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 979) to designate a mountain in the John Muir Wilderness 
of the Sierra National Forest as ``Sky Point''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 979

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

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Staff Sergeant Sky Mote, USMC, grew up in El Dorado, 
     California.
       (2) Staff Sergeant Mote graduated from Union Mine High 
     School.
       (3) Upon graduation, Staff Sergeant Mote promptly enlisted 
     in the Marine Corps.
       (4) Staff Sergeant Mote spent 9 years serving his country 
     in the United States Marine Corps, including a deployment to 
     Iraq and two deployments to Afghanistan.
       (5) By his decisive actions, heroic initiative, and 
     resolute dedication to duty, Staff Sergeant Mote gave his 
     life to protect fellow Marines on August 10, 2012, by 
     gallantly rushing into action during an attack by a rogue 
     Afghan policeman inside the base perimeter in Helmand 
     province.
       (6) Staff Sergeant Mote was awarded the Navy Cross, a 
     Purple Heart, the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, a 
     Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, 2 Combat Action Ribbons 
     and 3 Good Conduct Medals.
       (7) The Congress of the United States, in acknowledgment of 
     this debt that cannot be repaid, honors Staff Sergeant Mote 
     for his ultimate sacrifice and recognizes his service to his 
     country, faithfully executed to his last, full measure of 
     devotion.

[[Page 7962]]

       (8) A presently unnamed peak in the center of Humphrey 
     Basin holds special meaning to the friends and family of Sky 
     Mote, as their annual hunting trips set up camp beneath this 
     point; under the stars, the memories made beneath this 
     rounded peak will be cherished forever.

     SEC. 2. SKY POINT.

       (a) Designation.--The mountain in the John Muir Wilderness 
     of the Sierra National Forest in California, located at 
     3715'16.10091"N 11843'39.54102"W, shall be known and 
     designated as ``Sky Point''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, record, or other paper of the United States to the 
     mountain described in subsection (a) shall be considered to 
     be a reference to ``Sky Point''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days 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. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  There are some times when we can do nothing to repay the sacrifice 
that our fellow men have done for us; but, in some small way, we can 
try to show our gratitude. This is one bill that does that.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. McClintock), the sponsor of this piece of legislation.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, the chairman of 
the Committee on Natural Resources, for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, Marine Staff Sergeant Sky Mote cared about a lot of 
things--his fellow Marines, his country, his family, his community--but 
his father, Russell, recalled, ``He never cared about medals. He never 
showed them to us. Once,'' he said, ``I found one in his laundry.''
  The irony is that Staff Sergeant Sky Mote received the second highest 
medal that our country can bestow upon a Marine, the Navy Cross, for 
his heroism in defending his fellow Marines on the last day of his 
life, August 10, 2012.
  The Navy Cross is in addition to the Purple Heart, the Navy and 
Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement 
Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, and three Good Conduct Medals that he 
earned during his 9 years of exemplary service to our Nation.
  In the U.S. Marine Corps, that prides itself on maintaining the 
highest standards of the American military tradition, Staff Sergeant 
Sky Mote stands conspicuously above and beyond.
  On that day, that last day of his life, Sergeant Mote was at his post 
in the tactical operations center of the 1st Marine Special Operations 
Battalion in Helmand province. On that day, a so-called Afghan police 
officer opened fire on the Marines who had come there to help that 
country.
  When the attack broke out, Sergeant Mote was in an adjoining room. He 
could have easily escaped to safety. According to the Navy's citation, 
``He instead grabbed his M4 rifle and entered the operations room, 
courageously exposing himself to a hail of gunfire in order to protect 
his fellow Marines. In his final act of bravery, he boldly engaged the 
gunman, now less than 5 meters in front of him, until falling mortally 
wounded.''
  According to the citation, it was Mote's actions that stopped the 
attack and forced the attacker to flee. It was this heroism for which 
he received the Navy Cross.
  We know that he didn't care much about medals, but he cared so deeply 
about his Marine Corps brothers that he gave his life for them. Many 
who would have perished that day will go on to lead long and productive 
and prosperous lives because Sky Mote sacrificed his own for them, as 
did Captain Matthew Manoukian of Los Altos Hills, California, who also 
gave his life to defend his fellow Marines that day.
  Staff Sergeant Mote and his unit had been in the thick of the 
fighting in Afghanistan, often functioning as a commando force. During 
their tour in Puzeh, he and his unit were often engaged in daylong 
firefights, and Mote in particular had often exposed himself to grave 
danger.
  His family didn't know a lot of this at the time. His stepmother, 
Marcia, said: ``He'd always say, `I'm going to be on a camping trip' or 
`I'm going to go on a hike.' He didn't want to give us any reason to 
worry.''
  His father said that, although his son was indifferent to medals, he 
was intentionally proud of his EOD badge designating his service as an 
explosive ordnance disposal technician.
  Russell Mote explained: ``He was just a humble person doing his job, 
and his job was to protect his team. He was not like a gung ho military 
person. You wouldn't know he was in the Special Forces.''
  To the EOD technicians, bombs are not something to be avoided, but 
something to be sought out and disarmed. On one such day, Mote defused 
two IEDs; crawled through a heavily seeded minefield to save the life 
of his team leader, who had been severely wounded by a third; and then 
directed the evacuation of his unit. On that day, Sergeant Mote had 
earned a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a V for valor.
  On another very different day nearly 3 years ago, Sergeant Mote 
returned home for the last time. Thousands of his countrymen stretched 
out more than a mile on El Dorado Hills Boulevard to silently express 
their gratitude and respect for this hometown hero.
  Hundreds more lined overpasses to pay their respects along the 
motorcade route. Still more stood silent vigil in front of Silva Valley 
Elementary School and Rolling Hills Middle School, where he had 
attended, as the procession passed by. A thousand more waited for him 
at the church.
  Many knew him by his deeds; a fortunate few knew him as a person and 
recounted stories of his growing up in that community. His father 
recalled: ``Sky loved life, family, and friends, and he loved being a 
Marine. He loved to surf. He loved to hunt and hike in the Sierra.''
  Marcia perhaps put it best when she said: ``He was just everybody's 
friend, and he would do anything for anybody.''
  Sky Mote was 27 on that fateful day in Afghanistan. He was born June 
6, 1985, in Bishop, California. When he was still young, his parents 
divorced, and his father brought his children to El Dorado. He married 
Marcia, and there, they raised Sky and their four other sons.
  There, Sky joined the 4-H. He raised pigs and rode horses. He joined 
the Civil Air Patrol. At Union Mine High School, he lettered in track 
and cross country. He camped and biked and hiked with his family 
throughout the Sierra.
  From the time he was a child, he spoke of some day joining the 
military and defending his country. Right after graduation in 2003, he 
did just that. Nine years later, he returned home to be laid to rest by 
a country that honors him, a hometown that remembers him, and a family 
that misses him.
  Mr. Speaker, I wanted to share a little of what I learned about 
Marine Staff Sergeant Sky Mote because it helps to answer the question 
that James Michener first asked: ``Where do we get such men?''
  Well, we get them from the heart and soul of America. We get them 
from good and decent families like the Motes. We get them from little 
towns like El Dorado, California.
  We come here today, to the Hall of the House of Representatives, to 
try to honor a hero who didn't care much about medals. Lincoln, at 
Gettysburg, noted our difficulty in doing so when he looked over the 
quiet battlefield and noted that ``in a larger sense, we cannot 
dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave 
men, living and dead, who struggled

[[Page 7963]]

here have consecrated it far beyond our poor power to add or detract.''

                              {time}  1530

  But nevertheless, we try.
  Lincoln was right: we cannot add to the honor of his deeds. We come, 
instead, to draw inspiration from them. We reflect on a young life, 
with all the hopes and joys and aspirations of a long and productive 
lifetime ahead, all sacrificed for a country that, to this day, 
represents what Lincoln called the ``last best hope of mankind.''
  We come in gratitude to know that in every generation, there are such 
heroes among us who will step forth from the safety of hearth and home 
and into mortal peril to protect their fellow citizens. Patton put it 
best when he said: ``It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. 
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.''
  We come out of recognition that although the suffering of these 
fallen heroes has ended, the suffering of their families goes on day in 
and day out. There are Gold Star families among us who spend their 
Memorial Days not at barbecues and beach parties but in solemn 
ceremonies and quiet vigils around honored graves. We honor their loved 
ones in hopes that in some small way, we can help fortify them against 
the loss that they bear every day of their lives.
  But most of all, we come in recognition of Shakespeare's plea that 
``this story shall the good man teach his son.''
  A few years ago, I had the honor to visit members of the 3rd United 
States Infantry Old Guard who tend the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 
Arlington Cemetery. They are meticulously dressed and painstakingly 
drilled as they honor the memory of our fallen warriors.
  It is quite an impressive sight. And on a warm spring day like this, 
thousands of tourists will show up to watch and to join the Old Guard 
for a moment to honor the sacrifices memorialized at the tomb.
  Tourists don't often show up during hurricanes or in driving 
snowstorms or at 2 o'clock in the morning in sleet and hail, but the 
Old Guard does. They commit 2 years of their lives to this service, 
under the strictest of conditions.
  I asked this young sergeant, ``Why? Why do you do this?''
  His answer was simple and direct: ``Because, sir, we want to 
demonstrate to our fellow Americans that we will never forget.''
  For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I bring this bill to the House today 
with the unanimous support of the entire California congressional 
delegation. We do so to ensure that our fellow Americans never forget 
Marine Staff Sergeant Sky Mote.
  In consultation with his family, we have identified a mountain in the 
John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest overlooking where 
Sky Mote and his family often camped and hiked. This bill proposes that 
it forever more be known as Sky Point as a token of our Nation's 
respect of his heroism, its appreciation of his sacrifice, its sympathy 
for his family, and of its solemn pledge that succeeding generations of 
his countrymen will never forget him.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 979 will designate a mountain peak in the John Muir 
Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest in California as Sky Point in 
recognition of fallen Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Sky Mote.
  Sky served our country honorably as a U.S. marine for 9 years. He had 
one tour of duty in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. As a member of the 1st 
Marine Special Operations Battalion, he was deployed to Afghanistan as 
part of Operation Enduring Freedom. However, on August 10, 2012, Sky's 
battalion received heavy gunfire from an attacker dressed as an Afghan 
police officer.
  Jumping into action, Sky exposed himself to the gunfire in order to 
distract the shooter and draw his attention away from his fellow 
Marines. In his final act of valor, he engaged the attacker in the 
open, allowing his comrades to find safety.
  For his heroic actions, Sky received the Navy Cross, a Purple Heart, 
the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, a Navy-Marine Corps 
Achievement Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, and three Good Conduct 
Medals.
  The mountain peak this bill seeks to name in his honor was very 
special to him. Every year, creating lasting memories, Staff Sergeant 
Mote and his family would set up camp beneath its point on hunting 
trips to the area. By designating that mountain peak ``Sky Point,'' we 
will honor Sky Mote's memory and ensure his selfless sacrifice for his 
country and fellow Marines is not forgotten.
  I just hope that the many hunters, mountaineers, and backpackers who 
visit Sky Point have an opportunity to learn of the man for whom the 
peak is named.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, we can name this unnamed peak as a 
small measure of our Nation's gratitude to this noble soldier, noble 
warrior, Staff Sergeant Sky Mote, for all he has done for us on our 
behalf. It is a fitting tribute, and it is the least that we can do for 
him and his family.
  With that, 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. Bishop) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 979.
  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.

                          ____________________