April 4, 2006 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 4927 the residents of Fresno County, my sincerest The following day, President Lyndon B. continued service to Huntington on this his appreciation for his dedication and service and Johnson declared Sunday, April 7 a day of na- 80th birthday. offer my heartfelt congratulations to Phil for re- tional mourning. Attending his funeral on April f ceiving the 2006 Fresno County Farm Bureau 9 were nearly 100,000 mourners who had felt ‘‘Distinguished Service’’ Award. Dr. King’s impact and had come to pay their HONORING CHAPLAIN EDWARD BASTILLE ON HIS RETIREMENT f respects. His coffin traveled through his home- town of Atlanta from Ebenezer Baptist Church FROM SERVICE WITH VETERANS STATEMENT ON THE 38TH ANNI- to Morehouse College, his alma mater. ADMINISTRATION PALO ALTO VERSARY OF THE ASSASSINA- In the years since his death, his widow, HEALTH CARE SYSTEM TION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER Coretta Scott King, whom we mourned in Jan- KING, JR. uary, carried on his work and his legacy. So HON. TOM LANTOS many others who fought alongside Dr. King OF CALIFORNIA HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN have also dedicated themselves to keeping IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF MARYLAND the dream alive. I consider it an honor to Tuesday, April 4, 2006 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES serve on the Ways and Means Committee Tuesday, April 4, 2006 with my friend and colleague, John Lewis, who Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable individual, Chap- Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, today, on the spoke so eloquently this morning of his friend- lain Edward Bastille who has dedicated his life 38th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. ship with Dr. King. to the service of facilitating the recovery of our Martin Luther King, Jr., I urge my colleagues The anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination to join me in remembering this solemn day. should remind us that America has far to go veterans. During his tenure at the VA Palo Yet while we reflect on Dr. King’s death, we in the struggle to recognize all its citizens as Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), Chap- should also celebrate his legacy of service equals. I look forward to the vote in this cham- lain Bastille coordinated and implemented nu- and justice—for he was ever hopeful about the ber to renew the Voting Rights Act before its merous programs and services that meet the future of our Nation. provisions expire in the summer of 2007, and needs of an ever-diversifying residency. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on Janu- I would hope that we would remember and As an inspiring leader, Chaplain Bastille, ary 15, 1929. He was one of three children of honor Dr. King’s commitment to end poverty himself a 100 percent disabled service-con- the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Al- and injustice in all our work in the House. nected Vietnam combat veteran, was respon- berta Williams King, in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. At Dr. King’s funeral, former Morehouse sible for hiring a talented and progressive cler- King graduated high school two years early President Dr. Benjamin Mays spoke these gy at VAPAHCS including: the first nun in the and went on to study at Morehouse College, words: ‘‘Martin Luther King, Jr., believed in a VA as a Eucharistic Minister, the first Catholic Crozer Theological Seminary, and Boston Uni- united America. He believed that the walls of Dean in the VA as a Fee Basis Eucharistic, versity. He began his career as an assistant separation brought on by legal and de facto the first Buddhist Chaplain in the VA, the first pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. segregation, and discrimination based on race Muslim chaplain, the first endorsed woman During his time leading the civil rights move- and color, could be eradicated.’’ Let us all Mormon spiritual leader, and for hiring the first ment, Dr. King was arrested on more than thir- share in Dr. King’s beliefs and his dream for Indian Spiritual Leader. ty occasions for doing the right thing. He a better America. Mr. Speaker, in addition to finding appro- served as president of the Montgomery Im- f priate spiritual counselors for the patients of provement Association during the 1955 Mont- the VA, Chaplain Bastille established a num- gomery Bus Boycott. He founded and led the CELEBRATING DOMINIC PETER ber of ongoing services and training programs Southern Christian Leadership Conference TORLONE’S 80TH YEAR AND CON- that the facility now offers to comfort and ac- from 1957 until his death in 1968. He led the TINUED COMMUNITY SERVICE commodate the healing process for both pa- March on Washington in 1963, delivering the tients and families alike. A fine example of ‘‘I Have A Dream’’ speech to thousands, and HON. NICK J. RAHALL II Chaplain Bastille’s efforts is the establishment focusing the eyes of the world on the Amer- OF WEST VIRGINIA of the American Indian Cultural Center at ican civil rights movement. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Menlo Park, which includes a sweat lodge pro- Martin Luther King, Jr., worked tirelessly to gram to meet the spiritual needs of the Native Tuesday, April 4, 2006 promote the political, economic and social American patients. This program received a rights of millions of Americans, particularly Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, today we extend VA Best Practice Award and has been emu- those who felt that equal justice was beyond best wishes on the occasion of the 80th birth- lated by other VA health care facilities. their reach. His passion was unmatched, his day of Dominic Peter Torlone of Huntington, Also, Chaplain Bastille assisted in revital- strength and perseverance were remarkable, West Virginia. Born in Logan, West Virginia on izing the Chaplain Program at the VA Northern and his enduring commitment to peace has April 7, 1926, Dominic has lived in Huntington California Health Care System (VANCHCS) by provided an example to us all. for the past 44 years and was the long-time training staff, rewriting procedures, and pro- On April 3, 1968, Dr. King was in Memphis owner and operator of Torlone’s Community viding operational leadership for three years. to support the striking Sanitation Workers’ Bakery, a staple of the Huntington community, For the families and other loved ones of pa- Union. The night before his assassination, Dr. along with his brothers, Louie and Alfred. His tients at the VAPAHCS, he established a Me- King prophetically declared that the movement parents, Peter and Carmela Maria Torlone, morial Rose Garden as an extension to the for racial equality may have to continue with- originally opened Torlone’s Bakery in 1946. Chapel Garden. The Rose Garden provides a out him. That night, he and other civil rights As any Huntington native will attest, Dominic touching space for families to memorialize activists stayed at the Lorraine Motel in Mem- is loved by all in the community. He is always their loved ones at the health care center. phis. ready with a warm smile and cheerful greeting Mr. Speaker, Chaplain Bastille’s extraor- The next afternoon, April 4, Dr. King, the for his fellow Huntingtonians, either in English dinary efforts to help humanity has not been Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and Memphis minister or his favorite Italian. He exemplifies the de- limited to the VA. For example, after Hurricane Rev. Billy Kyles, met at the Lorraine motel. cency and strong citizenship of his generation. Mitch, Chaplain Bastille helped organize the The three of them spoke briefly before Dr. Dominic and his wife, Mrs. Harriet Torlone, Palo Alto aid effort: the Honduras Relief King and Rev. Kyles stepped out onto the bal- are the proud parents of four children, Amy Project, which helped send three medical cony. His colleagues, including the Reverend Harris, Lisa Koch, Mark Torlone, and Beth teams to Honduras through funding provided Jesse Jackson, the Reverend James Bevel, Sigall, and nine grandchildren. Although he of- by 12 local churches. He organized the church Hosea Williams, and the Reverend Andrew ficially retired from Torlone’s Bakery in 1995, fundraising and recruited hospital volunteers. Young Jr. waited in the parking lot below with he remains an active member of Huntington’s For 18 years, Chaplain Bastille has also di- the car that would have taken Dr. King to his civic landscape, devoting many hours of serv- rected the Patient PTSD chorus and helped dinner. At 6:01 PM, a single shot rang out. ice to worthy causes such as the Knights of lead to trips to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in One hour later, Dr. King, the icon of peaceful, Columbus and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Washington, DC., and one trip to Russia to nonviolent change, was pronounced dead at where he attends daily mass. He is truly a fa- meet with Russian-Afghanistan PTSD Vet- St. Joseph’s Hospital. vorite son of West Virginia and we salute his erans.

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