Congressional Record—House H8464
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H8464 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE July 21, 2009 CONRAD DEROUEN, JR. POST DeRouen was involved in the Battle of fire in order to guide tanks into areas OFFICE Saipan in the Marianas Islands. Re- of combat; and when the communica- Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move grettably, Second Lieutenant DeRouen tions systems failed, DeRouen seated to suspend the rules and pass the bill was gravely wounded in the neck by himself behind the turret in order to (H.R. 2972) to designate the facility of enemy forces and subsequently died continue the resistance. the United States Postal Service lo- from his wounds at the age of 23. In another assault on Japanese forces cated at 115 West Edward Street in In recognition of his distinguished later on July 8, 1944, Lieutenant Erath, Louisiana, as the Conrad service, Second Lieutenant DeRouen DeRouen, despite being wounded in the DeRouen, Jr. Post Office. posthumously received the Navy Cross, neck by shrapnel from an enemy gre- The Clerk read the title of the bill. awarded for extreme gallantry and risk nade, refused to leave his post with the The text of the bill is as follows: of life in actual combat with an armed 1st Battalion to seek medical assist- H.R. 2972 enemy force and going beyond the call ance and, instead, continued to fight at his station. DeRouen eventually col- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- of duty. resentatives of the United States of America in As noted by the accompanying cita- lapsed due to pain and loss of blood and Congress assembled, tion, Second Lieutenant DeRouen, de- was carried off the field of battle by his SECTION 1. CONRAD DEROUEN, JR. POST OFFICE. spite his wounds, ‘‘gallantly refused to comrades. He finally succumbed to his (a) DESIGNATION.—The facility of the be evacuated and remained steadfast in wounds on his ship and was buried at United States Postal Service located at 115 his station until he collapsed from pain sea. West Edward Street in Erath, Louisiana, and blood loss.’’ Lieutenant DeRouen’s actions were shall be known and designated as the Additionally, the citation noted that, an inspiration to the marines he fought ‘‘Conrad DeRouen, Jr. Post Office’’. beside and were a contributing factor (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, ‘‘By his initiative, courage, and devo- tion to duty throughout these haz- in the success of the campaign in the map, regulation, document, paper, or other Mariana Islands. Because of his heroic record of the United States to the facility re- ardous operations, Second Lieutenant ferred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to DeRouen upheld the highest traditions death at the age of only 23 years of age, be a reference to the ‘‘Conrad DeRouen, Jr. of the United States Naval Service.’’ he was posthumously awarded the Post Office’’. Madam Speaker, Second Lieutenant Navy Cross for his bravery in a combat The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- Conrad DeRouen’s life stands as a tes- zone, the second highest decorated ant to the rule, the gentleman from tament to the bravery and dedication Medal of Honor. Today I join the town Massachusetts (Mr. LYNCH) and the of the heroic men and women who have of Erath in honoring this fallen hero gentleman from Utah (Mr. CHAFFETZ) offered the ultimate sacrifice in service with the dedication of their post office each will control 20 minutes. to our Nation. to the name of Second Lieutenant The Chair recognizes the gentleman Let us together honor this distin- Conrad C. DeRouen, Jr. for being the from Massachusetts. guished Marine through the passage of highest decorated veteran in its his- GENERAL LEAVE this legislation to designate the West tory, a real hero and someone we Mr. LYNCH. I ask unanimous consent Edward Street Postal Facility in his should all honor. that all Members may have 5 legisla- honor. As we honor Lieutenant DeRouen tive days within which to revise and I urge my colleagues to join Mr. today, we also must recognize our present-day heroes in Iraq and Afghani- extend their remarks. BOUSTANY, the lead sponsor of this res- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there olution, in supporting H.R. 2972. stan, those who have fallen and those objection to the request of the gen- I reserve the balance of my time. who continue to fight, and we thank tleman from Massachusetts? Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield such time as them as well as their families and the There was no objection. he may consume to my distinguished families of all of our troops who put on Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I now colleague from Louisiana (Mr. a uniform. I now ask my colleagues to support yield myself such time as I may con- BOUSTANY). this resolution. sume. As chairman of the House sub- Mr. BOUSTANY. I thank my friend Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I have committee with jurisdiction over the and colleague from Utah and my friend no further speakers at this time, but I United States Postal Service, I’m from Massachusetts for this courtesy. will continue to reserve the balance of pleased to present H.R. 2972 for consid- Madam Speaker, I rise today in sup- eration. This legislation will designate my time. port of House Resolution 2972, to des- Mr. CHAFFETZ. It’s an honor to the United States Postal Service Facil- ignate the facility of the United States stand and rise in support of H.R. 2972 ity located at 115 West Edward Street Postal Service located at 115 West Ed- and the great American hero that we in Erath, Louisiana, as the ‘‘Conrad ward Street in Erath, Louisiana, as the know as Conrad DeRouen. I appreciate DeRouen, Jr. Post Office.’’ Conrad DeRouen, Jr. Post Office. I’d bringing this to our attention, and we Introduced by my colleague, Rep- like to thank the Oversight and Gov- look forward to having this post office resentative CHARLES BOUSTANY of Lou- ernment Reform Committee for bring- named after him. It’s the least we isiana, on June 19, 2009, and reported ing this bill to the floor. could do from a country that’s so out of committee on July 10, 2009, by Today, it’s really a distinct honor for grateful. unanimous consent, H.R. 2972 enjoys me to celebrate the life of United I yield back the balance of my time. the support of the entire Louisiana States Marine Corps Reserve Second Mr. LYNCH. I yield back the balance House delegation. Lieutenant Conrad C. DeRouen, Jr., an of my time. Born on February 12, 1921, Conrad extraordinary hero in World War II. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The ‘‘Snookie’’ DeRouen graduated from A native of Erath, Louisiana, a small question is on the motion offered by Erath High School in 1937, and subse- coastal town in my district, DeRouen the gentleman from Massachusetts quently attended Vanderbilt Univer- graduated from Erath High School, (Mr. LYNCH) that the House suspend sity, graduating with a master’s degree then went on to Southwestern Lou- the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2972. in health and physical education. isiana Institute, and subsequently re- The question was taken. At the age of 21, Conrad DeRouen ceived a master’s degree from Peabody The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the volunteered for service in the United College in Nashville, Tennessee. opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being States Marine Corps and was commis- He married Marguerite Domingues of in the affirmative, the ayes have it. sioned as a second lieutenant at Abbeville, Louisiana, and at the age of Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Quantico, Virginia. Following addi- 21 he volunteered to serve in the Speaker, on that I demand the yeas tional training at Camp Pendleton, United States Marine Corps. and nays. Second Lieutenant DeRouen was de- The yeas and nays were ordered. ployed to the Asiatic theatre during b 1915 The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- World War II, serving with the 1st Bat- While fighting against the Japanese ant to clause 8 of rule XX and the talion, 2nd Marine Division. forces in Saipan, Mariana Islands, on Chair’s prior announcement, further In July of 1944, after serving overseas July 3, 1944, Lieutenant DeRouen en- proceedings on this motion will be for a few months, Second Lieutenant dured continuous exposure to enemy postponed. VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:57 Sep 28, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD09\RECFILES\H21JY9.REC H21JY9 smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE July 21, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H8465 CONGRATULATING NBA CHAMPION championship and achieve historic cham- Madam Speaker, the Los Angeles LOS ANGELES LAKERS pionships for Head Coach Phil Jackson, and Lakers stand as one of sporting his- Kobe Bryant; tory’s greatest franchises. The team Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I move Whereas the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was pre- to suspend the rules and agree to the sented with the Bill Russell NBA Finals was founded in 1946 in Detroit and resolution (H. Res. 566) congratulating Most Valuable Player Award; moved to Minneapolis where it adopted the 2008–2009 National Basketball Asso- Whereas in addition to the contributions of its name, the Lakers, after Minnesota’s ciation Champions, the Los Angeles superstars Bryant, Gasol, and Odom, strong State nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Lakers, on an outstanding and historic contributions by Ariza, Brown, Farmar, The Lakers relocated to Los Angeles in season. Ilunga-Mbenga, Bynum, Fisher, Powell, 1960. Vujacic, and Walton returned the glory that In the 1980s, the Lakers became one The Clerk read the title of the resolu- has marked much of the Los Angeles Lakers tion.