[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8499-8500]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING SECOND LIEUTENANT RICHARD WILBUR COLLINS III

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I stand to pay tribute to a 
distinguished young man from the State of Maryland: 2LT Richard Wilbur 
Collins III, a brave, brilliant, passionate, selfless, and kind 
American hero.
  Second Lieutenant Collins, a resident of Calvert County, MD, was a 
23-year-

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old student at Bowie State University, where he was a member of the 
Bowie ROTC Program and was airborne-certified. On May 18, just last 
week, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army's 
intelligence branch. Second Lieutenant Collins was scheduled to 
graduate with a bachelor's of arts in business administration from 
Bowie State University earlier this week. His future could not have 
been brighter.
  Tragically, Second Lieutenant Collins' life was cut short by a 
horrific act of violence that the FBI is investigating as a hate crime. 
We must bring the perpetrator of this evil act to justice and directly 
confront the racism behind it.
  Second Lieutenant Collins' selfless and courageous contributions to 
our State and Nation will continue to have a lasting impact on those 
who knew and loved him and on the broader community who learned of his 
tragic and senseless death. At the young age of 23, Second Lieutenant 
Collins raised his right hand to protect and defend the Constitution of 
the United States. He was a young man of extraordinary courage and 
ability and will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
  Second Lieutenant Collins leaves behind his grieving family: his 
father, U.S. veteran Richard W. Collins II; his mother Dawn Collins, 
his sister Robin Collins, and countless friends.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering Second 
Lieutenant Richard Wilbur Collins III and in expressing our deepest 
condolences to his family and friends.

                          ____________________