To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 201 South Chicago Avenue in Saint Anne, Illinois, as the "Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre Saint Anne Post Office".

Mr. Speaker, it has been an honor to have been the sponsor of H.R. 3538, as well as the two previous pieces of legislation honoring three fallen war heroes from my State of Illinois.

This legislation, H.R. 3538, the Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre Saint Anne Post Office Designation Act, is just like the two previous bills considered by the House. Under H.R. 3538, the Saint Anne, Illinois, post office will be named after Marine Captain Ryan Beaupre, another Operation Iraqi Freedom hero from the 11th Congressional District of Illinois; and, again, Mr. Speaker, I wish to express my gratitude for my colleagues in the Illinois delegation for joining me as original cosponsors of this legislation.

Captain Beaupre was a helicopter pilot with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He was lost on March 20, 2003, while piloting a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter in Kuwait, 9 miles from the border with Iraq.

Ryan enjoyed competing in cross-country and track. He was also a volunteer in the community, volunteering at Home-Sweet-Home mission, a homeless shelter and transitional housing program. He attended Bishop McNamara High School and Illinois Wesleyan University in my congressional district.

I have had the opportunity to meet with Ryan's parents, Mark and Nicky Beaupre; and I can tell my colleagues that the Beaupre family is a very proud family, a very close family, and a very patriotic family.

Ryan Beaupre loved to fly. He enjoyed being a pilot, and he enjoyed being a Marine. Mr. Speaker, the words we speak in this Chamber can never be enough to truly understand what Ryan Beaupre meant to those who knew him. So, Mr. Speaker, I offer these remarks from Ann Harding, assistant director of Career Services at Illinois Wesleyan University, from the school's memorial page to Ryan Beaupre:

``When I got the news about Ryan's death, I immediately went through my many photo albums of IWU students. Suddenly Ryan's face was everywhere. What a great smile! Ryan worked for me in the Career Center. We stayed in touch after he started his job at State Farm. While he worked for me, he talked about his interest in learning how to fly. We even discussed the Officers Training Program. When he accepted the job at State Farm, I figured he put the idea out of his mind. Then a year later he called and said he had given his 2 weeks' notice and was joining the Marines. `They're going to teach me how to fly,' he said.

``I was happy for him because he always kept his eye on his dream. To think he could have been as safe as I am in Bloomington, Illinois, had he not pursued the real dream. I admire Ryan and any one of you that goes after what you want. I know that until there was no time left, Ryan was doing everything right and to the very best of his ability. He was a smart and innocent man.

``To see so many alumni come back to the service on campus is a testament to a how close you all become in a short 4-year period. I will go to the services on Thursday in Saint Anne and be very proud to have known Ryan Beaupre.''

Mr. Speaker, Ryan Beaupre died living a dream, a dream of flying, a dream of serving as a United States Marine, a dream of helping bring freedom and a better life to those in the Middle East.

The prayers of a grateful Nation and a grateful Congress go out to all the families that have lost a loved one in defense of America's freedom. I ask that the House honor the memory of Illinois' lost son, Marine Captain Ryan Beaupre, by passing H.R. 3538, renaming the Saint Anne, Illinois, post office after our fallen hero of the war against terror.

I especially want to thank my two distinguished colleagues, the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, for joining me on the floor today to help with this legislation and also thanks to my colleagues as well as ask unanimous support for this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, let me first begin by thanking the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) of the Committee on Government Reform, every member of the Committee on Government Reform, and particularly the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for joining me here on the floor and their assistance in their effort to honor these three members of the American military.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the heroic actions of three service members from the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, three service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their life to the defense of our Nation and our freedoms. Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid of Malden, Illinois; Marine Captain Ryan Beaupre of St. Anne, Illinois; and Army Private Shawn Pahnke of Manhattan, Illinois, each served proudly and bravely in the United States military.

Today, Mr. Speaker, the House will honor the memory of these three soldiers with the passage of H.R. 3536, H.R. 3537, and H.R. 3538, bills that will rename the post offices in each of these soldiers' hometowns in their honor. I note and express appreciation to my colleagues in the Illinois delegation, all of whom have co-sponsored this legislation, each and every one of them of the 19 in the Illinois delegation.

Mr. Speaker, I have unfortunately lost three soldiers from my district in the war against terror. In each of these cases the soldiers who gave their lives came from small communities, towns where each of those soldiers are well known, towns that gave one of their own in the defense of freedom, towns that have been there to help give the Hollinsaid, Beaupre and Pahnke families the support they needed and still need in dealing with their loss.

Today this body will bestow a small yet important honor in remembrance of the sacrifices of these three men, soldiers and their families by renaming the only Federal installations in these three small towns, the community gathering place, the local United States Post Office.

H.R. 3536 will rename the Malden, Illinois Post Office after Army Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid. Staff Sergeant Hollinsaid was an engineer with the U.S. Army Third Infantry Battalion. He was lost April 7, 2003 while operating a crane to help clear a path along U.S. Army forces to penetrate the grounds of the Baghdad Airport and capture this key facility.

Lincoln loved fishing, four-wheeling in his truck, and was also a self-taught guitar player. Linc, as his father Dan and mother Nancy called him, was proud to serve in the United States Armed Forces and his service has been a great source of pride for the small community of Malden, a town of 380 residents in Bureau County, Illinois.

Lincoln Hollinsaid was more than a source of pride, though. Linc and his family have been a source of strength for other military families dealing with the loss of a loved one. So much so that our own president, President Bush, made mention of Linc in his address at Arlington National Cemetery this past Memorial Day.

The Memorial Day services at Arlington was somber, as tradition would have you expect, but the crowd chuckled as President Bush recalled a letter that Army Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid wrote from the Mid East, telling his family that he enjoyed getting mail from them but I wish my truck and boat knew how to write. President Bush said, quoting Hollinsaid, ``I sure do miss them.''

We miss Lincoln Hollinsaid. I ask for Members' prayers for the Hollinsaid family and Members' unanimous support of H.R. 3536 to rename the Malden, Illinois Post Office after Army Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3536) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 210 Main Street in Malden, Illinois, as the ``Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid Malden Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3536.

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

Mr. Speaker, the next three pieces of legislation that the House will consider today are each tributes to a fallen soldier of the United States Armed Forces who served in Iraq in the past year.

All Americans and all peace-loving people around the world should have rejoiced in the news just yesterday that members of the Iraqi Governing Council signed an interim constitution, a grand step towards the objective of establishing free elections and a permanent self- ruling government in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, in working to achieve these extraordinary goals, countless American servicemen and women have sacrificed for months since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom nearly one year ago and, indeed, some American soldiers today have paid the ultimate price for our country. Today I am pleased that the House is taking time

to consider bills that will honor the lives of three brave men whose service to our Nation and to freedom everywhere must never be forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, the first of the three bills introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller) that we will consider is H.R. 3536. This designates a post office in Malden, Illinois as the Army Staff Sgt. Lincoln Hollinsaid Post Office. All members of the Illinois State delegation have co-sponsored this meaningful legislation.

Mr. Speaker, Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid left his home in Malden, Illinois, on January 22, 2003 and headed to the Middle East as an engineer with the Army's Third Infantry Division to participate in the liberation of Iraq. He was killed tragically on April 7, 2003 in Iraq when a rocket propelled grenade hit the crane that he was operating. Sergeant Hollinsaid was 27 years old.

Lincoln was a graduate of Princeton High School in Princeton, Illinois, and he was an avid fisher. He enlisted with the Army in 1995 and he had served ever since.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), I extend the heartfelt sympathy of the House of Representatives to the family of Lincoln Hollinsaid, especially his father, Dan, his mother, Nancy, and his two brothers, Adam and Kevin.

I urge all the Members of the House to support H.R. 3536, that will commemorate the life and service of Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all members to support

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3538) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 201 South Chicago Avenue in Saint Anne, Illinois, as the ``Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre Saint Anne Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3538, the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, like the last two pieces of legislation, H.R. 3538 names a post office after a courageous young man who died while bravely fighting for our Nation in Iraq. This bill designates a postal service facility in Saint Anne, Illinois, as the Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre Saint Anne Post Office.

Mr. Speaker, Captain Ryan Beaupre of Saint Anne, Illinois, was a pilot of a CH-46 helicopter that crashed in Kuwait on March 20, 2003, just days after the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Captain Beaupre died at the age of 30.

Mr. Speaker, prior to serving in the Marine Corps, Ryan Beaupre was a standout student at Bishop McNamara High School and Illinois Wesleyan University. In his spare time in Saint Anne, he enjoyed exercising and he volunteered at a homeless shelter. He is survived by his father, Mark; mother, Nicky; two sisters, Alyse and Kari; and a brother, Cristopher. I want to assure the Beaupre family that the thoughts and the prayers of all Members of this House are with them. With passage of this legislation, the Congress can forever commemorate Ryan Beaupre's sacrifice with a post office that bears his name in his hometown.

Mr. Speaker, serving in our Nation's military is perhaps the greatest contribution one can make for his or her country. Our Armed Forces serve the entire Nation at home and overseas with unparalleled loyalty and selflessness. Undeniably, Ryan Beaupre possessed these admirable characteristics. That is why I urge all Members to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller).

(Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members support the passage of this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller) in presenting these 3 bills that honor three men who have served us with all they had to give in Iraq. I am particularly honored to do so because the District of Columbia has lost more men already in Iraq than many States all without voting representation in this House or in the Senate. So it is with special pride that I speak for myself and for all whom I represent in honoring these three men who gave their lives for all of us.

As a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 3536, legislation naming a postal facility in Malden, Illinois after Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid. This measure was introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller) on November 19, 2003 and unanimously reported by our committee on February 12, 2004.

H.R. 3536 enjoys the support and co-sponsorship of the entire Illinois delegation.

Army Staff Sergeant Lincoln D. Hollinsaid was a soldier from Malden, Illinois, who was killed on April 7, 2003 in an Iraq grenade attack.

Lincoln Hollinsaid graduated from the local high school in Malden, Princeton High, and worked a short while at a local construction company before enlisting in the U.S. Army. As an Army engineer, Staff Sergeant Hollinsaid served on the Army's Third Infantry Division. He was assigned to the B company, 11th Engineer Battalion, in Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Because of his interest in serving in combat, Hollinsaid transferred from a California training post to the Third Infantry Division in Georgia. Sadly, at age 27, this staff sergeant was killed when the crane he was driving was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. He is survived by his parents, Dan and Nancy, and two brothers, Adam and Kevin.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the memory of a fallen soldier. I urge swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.