Kyle G. West Post Office Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, as chairman of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over the United States Postal Service, I am pleased to present H.R. 2422, as amended, for consideration this afternoon.

The bill before us will designate the United States postal facility located at 702 East University Avenue in Georgetown, Texas, as the ``Kyle G. West Post Office Building.'' Introduced by our colleague Representative John Carter of Texas on May 14, 2009, and reported out of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on June 4th, 2009, by unanimous consent, H.R. 2422 enjoys the support of the entire Texas House delegation.

A resident of Hutto, Texas, First Lieutenant Kyle G. West bravely served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the United States Army's 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas.

On Memorial Day, May 28, 2007, First Lieutenant West and four fellow members of his unit were killed in Abu Sayda, Iraq, when their Bradley Fighting Vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. The soldiers had been out on a rescue mission in support of comrades who had been downed in a helicopter.

After graduating in 2001 from Hutto High School in Texas, First Lieutenant West attended Blinn College and subsequently received a degree in business management from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2005.

In pursuit of his lifelong dream to serve in the United States military, First Lieutenant West joined the ROTC program at Stephen F. Austin as a junior, and eventually rose to sergeant in the Texas National Guard out of Lufkin, Texas. Included among Kyle's National Guard duties were assisting in the Columbia shuttle recovery efforts in 2003, as well as serving in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Kyle was commissioned into the United States Army as a second lieutenant on the eve of his college graduation ceremony and subsequently deployed to Iraq on October 3, 2006.

In addition to his dedication to his unit and his country, Kyle is equally remembered for his devotion to his family and to his friends. As recalled in a May 31, 2007, article in the Austin American-Statesman, Kyle was a devoted son, a protective big brother, and a loyal friend who is still known in his old neighborhood for rounding up friends to take care of a local grackle problem while all the adults were at work.

Mr. Speaker, First Lieutenant Kyle West's life stands as a testament to the bravery and devotion of the heroic men and women who have served and continue to serve our Nation at home and abroad. It is my sincere hope that we can honor this young soldier through the passage of H.R. 2422 and rename the Georgetown, Texas, postal facility as the Lieutenant Kyle G. West Post Office Building. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I reserve the balance of our time.

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