Honoring Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life of David Lee Espinoza, who died in defense of our Nation on August 26.

David was a marine who was helping with the evacuation of the Kabul airport when he was murdered by a suicide bomber, along with 12 other service men and women who so senselessly had their lives taken from them that day. His mother got the call that every parent of every servicemember fears when she was told at 2:30 in the morning that her son had lost his life in Afghanistan.

David was just 20 years old. David was a lifelong Texan. He was born in Laredo and raised nearby in Rio Bravo, where he was the eldest of four children.

David always wanted to be a marine. And as a child, he loved to consider different military strategies as he played with toy soldiers. David joined the Marines the summer after he graduated from LBJ High School in Laredo in 2019, and he spent time serving in Jordan before being sent to Kabul the week before he died. It has been said that other service branches wanted David to join their ranks, but David always knew he was meant to be a marine.

David was a beloved son, a brother, a friend, and a fellow marine. He was a patriot who had a passion for service, and our Nation can never repay the debt that we owe to David and to his family for giving what President Lincoln hailed as ``the last full measure of devotion.''

Yesterday, at David's funeral mass, Father Francisco Stodola said:

As tragic as this loss is, and as deep as the wounds of sorrow have pierced the hearts of his loved ones, and particularly his mother--because a mother would rather lose an arm or a leg than to have to lose a child--we can console ourselves with the fact that David died doing what he wanted to do with the people he wanted to do it with.

We will remember David and the incredible sacrifice he gave for our country. He will also be remembered by his community. The Laredo City Council has already voted to name the road in front of LBJ High School, David's alma mater, as the ``Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza Memorial Boulevard.''

To David's parents, Elizabeth Holguin and Victor Manuel Dominguez, and to his siblings, Angel Martin Espinoza, Victor Manuel Dominguez, Jr., and Delilah Alyssa Dominguez, I want to say that your son and your brother was a brave patriot who will never be forgotten. Heidi and I are lifting you up in prayer as you mourn the loss of your beloved David.

The 91st Psalm is sometimes called the soldier's or the warrior's psalm because it asks the Lord for protection against many foes, and it assures us that the Lord will be with us in times of trouble:

Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

David's sacrifice was not in vain. He died as he lived, giving of himself in the service of others. David now rests from his labors, having been a good and faithful servant.

And to the families of all of those whose lives were lost in Afghanistan this year and in the 20 years that preceded it, know that your sacrifice, know that your loss was not in vain. America is better. America is safer. American lives are more secure because your sons and daughters answered the call. America is better and safer and more secure because David Espinoza answered the call. Texas and America are better for having known him, and we are in his debt.

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