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[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

         HONORING LANCE CORPORAL EMILIO ALBERT DE LA GARZA, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 9, 2008

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take this 
time to recognize Ivy Tech Community College as it dedicates its East 
Chicago, Indiana campus and to join the institute in paying tribute to 
its namesake, Vietnam War hero Lance Corporal Emilio Albert De La 
Garza, Jr. After completing the first phase of a new modernization 
project, Ivy Tech will be holding a dedication ceremony on Sunday, 
December 7, 2008 at the campus in East Chicago, Indiana. The event will 
serve not only as an opportunity to showcase the improvements to the 
campus and to reaffirm its commitment to excellence in higher learning, 
but it will also serve as a chance to reflect on the bravery and 
heroism of one of East Chicago's own.
  Ivy Tech Community College's East Chicago campus has served students 
from Northwest Indiana and beyond since 1994. Always committed to 
improving the learning environment for its students, the De La Garza 
campus, which began with 376 students and now serves an impressive 
enrollment of 1,122 students, recently completed the first phase of a 
modernization project. This project, which began in July 2006, features 
improvements to general maintenance and enhanced safety measures, as 
well as new and improved conference rooms and student common areas. 
Phase II of this project, set to begin in January 2009, will focus on 
improvements to the classrooms and computer labs.
  These renovations are the result of the continuous outpouring of 
support from the community, offered as a living memory of one of 
Northwest Indiana's finest citizens and greatest heroes, Lance Corporal 
Emilio A. De La Garza, Jr. Lance Corporal De La Garza was born in East 
Chicago, Indiana on June 23, 1949. Following his graduation from East 
Chicago Washington High School in 1968, the patriotic and devoted De La 
Garza decided to serve his country and enlisted in the United States 
Marine Corps. While serving as a machine gunner with Company E, Second 
Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division in the Republic of 
Vietnam on April 11, 1970, Lance Corporal De La Garza paid the ultimate 
sacrifice. Demonstrating the most selfless act imaginable, Lance 
Corporal De La Garza placed himself between two of his fellow Marines 
and a live grenade. While Lance Corporal De La Garza's life was lost, 
his courageous act spared the lives of the other Marines.
  Lance Corporal Emilio De La Garza, Jr. performed the ultimate act of 
heroism, setting aside personal safety for the safety of others. For 
his bravery, Lance Corporal De La Garza was posthumously honored by 
President Richard Nixon with the nation's highest honor, the Medal of 
Honor.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to 
join me in commending Ivy Tech Community College's administrators, 
faculty, staff, students and members of the community who, over the 
years, have contributed to its success in achieving its standard of 
excellence, as well as in honoring the school's namesake, Lance 
Corporal Emilio Albert De La Garza, Jr. The efforts of those involved 
have made the De La Garza campus a tremendous source of pride of 
Indiana's First Congressional District, and they have made the campus a 
constant reminder of one of Northwest Indiana's finest citizens.

                          ____________________
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