[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 CONGRATULATING COMMANDER KEITH WOODLEY

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, with this being Caribbean-American 
Heritage Month, I wanted to highlight and congratulate a native Virgin 
Islander who is now the new commander of the USS Gabrielle Giffords, 
which was commissioned this past weekend in Texas.
  The USS Gabrielle Giffords, the 16th ship to be named for a woman and 
only the 13th ship to be named for a living person since 1850, is, in 
fact, commanded by Keith Woodley, a native of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin 
Islands, a graduate of Florida A&M and the Florida Institute of 
Technology.
  At the commissioning of the ship, Commander Woodley stated: ``This is 
not just a new ship. This is a new class of ship. . . . They have risen 
to that challenge and performed exceptionally well in getting this ship 
ready for service.''
  I would be remiss in not also acknowledging, during Caribbean-
American Heritage month, Alton Adam, born in 1889, who was also from 
St. Thomas and the U.S. Navy's first bandmaster. His music was 
performed by numerous bands and continues to be performed.
  I also, of course, want to wish my parents a happy 58th wedding 
anniversary today. We love you. God bless you.

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