•HRES 498 IH 
Whereas Lance Corporal Velasco was beloved by his friends 
and family for his sense of humor, his never ending 
smile, his kindness, and his ability to make friends with 
everyone; 
Whereas Lance Corporal Velasco was selected to assess into 
the Marine Corps and could not have been more excited, 
discussing extensively with his family and friends his 
pride in becoming a Marine to serve the United States; 
Whereas Lance Corporal Velasco completed basic training to 
earn his Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, matriculated into in-
fantryman training, and upon graduation was assigned to 
Battery G, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 5th 
Marines (BLT 3/5); 
Whereas Lance Corporal Velasco was deployed in support of 
the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and was decorated 
with the National Defense Service Medal and the Global 
War on Terrorism Service Medal; 
Whereas Corporal Nathaniel Ordway was born on February 
8, 1996, in Wichita, Kansas; 
Whereas Corporal Ordway grew up in Wichita and attended 
Wichita Heights High School, where he was a member of 
the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps; 
Whereas Corporal Ordway was an accomplished practitioner 
of Taekwondo, achieving the level of black belt; 
Whereas Corporal Ordway is remembered as a person with a 
smile on his face, the guy who made everyone laugh, the 
guy who loved everyone, and a Marine who made his fam-
ily very proud; 
Whereas Corporal Ordway was selected to assess into the Ma-
rine Corps after high school, having always wanted to 
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•HRES 498 IH 
serve in a way that protected his family, his community 
and his country; 
Whereas Corporal Ordway completed basic training to earn 
his Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, advanced to a Crew Chief, 
and was assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 
265 (VMM–265); 
Whereas Corporal Ordway was decorated with the National 
Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, 
and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; 
Whereas Captain Benjamin Cross spent most of his childhood 
in Bethel, Maine, where he graduated from Telstar Re-
gional High School; 
Whereas Captain Cross excelled in high school as a scholar 
and athlete, including being student president of his 
graduating class and receiving a Reserve Officer Training 
Corps scholarship from the Navy; 
Whereas Captain Cross was an outstanding cadet at the Vir-
ginia Military Institute and graduated with an economics 
and business degree; 
Whereas Captain Cross is remembered by family and friends 
for his caring, compassion, magnetic personality, his love 
to fly, and the pride he had in being a Marine; 
Whereas Captain Cross earned his commission into the Ma-
rine Corps, advanced through flight school, and was as-
signed to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 
(VMM–265); 
Whereas Captain Cross was decorated with the National De-
fense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism 
Service Medal; 
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Whereas, on the evening of August 5, 2017, Lance Corporal 
Velasco, Corporal Ordway, Captain Cross, and 23 other 
members of the Armed Forces, were conducting regularly 
scheduled operations aboard an MV–22B Osprey as-
signed to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 
(VMM–265) in support of the 31st Marine Expeditionary 
Unit off the coast of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, 
Queensland, Australia; 
Whereas the MV–22B Osprey was involved in a mishap and 
entered the water 18 miles off the coast; 
Whereas courageous search and rescue efforts ensured the 
safe rescue of 23 personnel aboard the downed aircraft; 
and 
Whereas Lance Corporal Velasco, Corporal Ordway, and Cap-
tain Cross made the ultimate sacrifice defending the 
United States with honor: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) extends its deepest sympathies to the fami-
lies and friends of fallen Marines Lance Corporal 
Ruben Velasco of West Covina, California, Corporal 
Nathaniel Ordway of Wichita, Kansas, and Captain 
Benjamin Cross of Bethel, Maine, in their bereave-
ment; 
(2) honors the courage and character of these 
brave Marines for protecting the United States and 
defending the freedom of all Americans; and 
(3) encourages the people of the United States 
to remember the sacrifices of Lance Corporal 
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Velasco, Corporal Ordway, and Captain Cross and 
pray for them and their families. 
Æ 
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