To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3035 Stone Mountain Street in Lithonia, Georgia, as the "Specialist Jamaal RaShard Addison Post Office Building".

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4203, my bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3035 Stone Mountain Street in Lithonia, Georgia, as the ``Specialist Jamaal RaShard Addison Post Office Building.''

The war in Iraq continues, and no matter what our differing opinions are on it, it is imperative that we honor those who have fallen serving our country. Specialist Jamaal RaShard Addison was one of the first to meet an untimely end, and it is my privilege to stand here today to honor him.

Jamaal was born on October 7, 1980, to Patricia M. Roberts and Kevin B. Addison. He was the first Georgia soldier to lose his life in the Iraq war. He is survived by his parents and his 6-year-old son, Jamaal RaShard Addison, the 2nd. Jamaal was a lifelong resident of the Fourth District of Georgia, which is where I represent, and he was raised in the City of Lithonia for most of his life from 1981 to 1998.

He attended Henderson Mill Elementary School, Henderson Middle School, and Lakeside High School. Motivated by the opportunity to train as a computer technician and to help provide for his family, Jamaal joined the ROTC at Lakeside High School in Decatur, Georgia, in 2000.

After enlisting in the United States Army, Jamaal completed his basic training at Fort Benning and also at Fort Gordon in Georgia before serving a year in Korea. As a member of the 507th Maintenance Company, Jamaal was part of the initial invasion of Iraq. He was killed just days after he arrived there on March 23, 2003, when his convoy took a wrong turn and was ambushed near Nasiriyah. He was just 23 years old.

Specialist Jamaal RaShard Addison was the first Georgia soldier to pay the ultimate price in the Iraq war. Out of this tragedy, however, has come some good in the form of the Jamaal Addison Motivational Foundation, Inc., founded by Jamaal's mother, Patricia Roberts.

The foundation works with young people to offer opportunities for positive growth and to expose youth to the wide options available to them to lead successful lives. It offers youth an 8-week program designed to motivate, teach, and inspire them to develop into citizens of stature to give back to the community.

I've had the pleasure of working with Mrs. Roberts and have seen firsthand the tremendous impact that this foundation has had upon our community. Jamaal's father, Kevin Addison, is a career postal worker; and so renaming this post office is a particularly fitting tribute to a fine young man who was an excellent father as well.

Specialist Jamaal RaShard Addison paid the ultimate price by giving his life in service to his country. He was the first of too many Georgians to perish in Iraq. This year marks the fifth anniversary of his untimely passing, and I am very pleased to be able to offer this bill in his memory.

America's fallen soldiers are heroes who deserve our enduring support. I ask my colleagues and all Americans to recognize those who have fallen and those who are currently serving by supporting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4203) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3035 Stone Mountain Street in Lithonia, Georgia, as the ``Jamaal RaShard Addison Post Office Building,'' as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 4203, as amended, which names a postal facility in Lithonia, Georgia, after Army Specialist Jamaal Addison, the first soldier from Georgia to lose his life while serving in Iraq.

H.R. 4203, which has the support of the entire congressional delegation from the State of Georgia, was introduced by my friend, Representative Henry ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr., of the State of Georgia on November 15, 2007, and was considered by and reported from the Oversight Committee by voice vote on January 29, 2008.

Mr. Speaker, the measure before us pays tribute to the life and service of Army Specialist Jamaal RaShard Addison by renaming the post office in his hometown of Lithonia, Georgia, after him.

A brave member of the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company in Fort Bliss, Texas, Army Specialist Jamaal Addison died, unfortunately, on March 23, 2003, as a result of an enemy ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq. Army Specialist Jamaal Addison was born on October 7, 1980, in the very town of Lithonia and spent his entire childhood there until enlisting in the United States Army in March of 2000.

As we pay tribute to this heroic American citizen, let's also take a moment and recollect on the thousands of men and women in uniform currently serving abroad in order to protect us here at home.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that we all proudly commemorate both the life and unfortunate death of Army Specialist Jamaal Addison by passing H.R. 4203. I want to commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) for bringing forth this legislation and getting the entire delegation to support it.

At this time, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the Fourth Congressional District of Georgia (Mr. Johnson), the author and sponsor of this legislation, a friend who serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill designating the United States postal facility located at 3035 Stone Mountain Street in Lithonia, Georgia as the ``Jamaal RaShard Addison Post Office Building.'' A native of Georgia, Army Specialist Jamaal Addison was a ``quiet, yet driven young man with a very gentle spirit.'' An honor roll student and member of the Junior ROTC, Jamaal graduated from Lakeside High School in Tucker, Georgia, in 1998.

His love of video games fostered a passion for computers. Driven by his desire to start his own computer business, Jamaal saw the military as an opportunity to develop his expertise as a computer technician. Enrolling in the Army in 2000, Specialist Addison spent a year in Korea before he was sent to the Middle East as part of the 507th Maintenance Company in the first days of the Iraqi War.

On March 23, 2003, the 507th convoy was ambushed and, tragically, Jamaal Addison lost his life. A dedicated husband, father, brother, and son, Specialist Addison was the first Georgian to pay the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq. His determination and caring spirit lives on through the Jamaal Addison Motivational Foundation, an organization founded by his mother, Patricia Roberts, to provide young members of the community with the opportunity to experience ``wide options available to them to lead successful lives'' and to ``strive to achieve his or her highest potential.''

I urge the passage of this bill in honor of an ambitious, caring, and dedicated American who sacrificed his life while serving his country, a true American patriot.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.