On the recordMarch 24, 2010
I rise today to offer my support for H.R. 4360, a bill to name the VA Blind Rehabilitation Center in Long Beach, California, after the distinguished Iraq veteran Charles R. Soltes. Mr. Soltes valiantly served his country in the United States Army as a major in the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion in Mosul, Iraq. He died on October 13, 2004, from wounds sustained in a blast conducting a combat patrol in Mosul. He was only 36 years old. Major Soltes was a graduate of the New England College of Optometry and later completed his residency at Brooke Army Medical Center that focused on ocular trauma, acute eye conditions, medical contact lens applications, and glaucoma care. At West Point, he served as director of the optometry residency program. In 1998, Major Soltes became clinical director of the Irvin Vision Institute, a refractive surgery specialty center where he served until his voluntary deployment in Iraq. He was the first military optometrist to be killed in action while serving as a public health officer in Iraq. He leaves behind a wife and three young children. Also an optometrist, Major Soltes' wife, Dr. Sally Houng Dang, currently treats blinded veterans as a way to honor her husband. Naming a VA facility after this hero and a strong veterans advocate is a proper honor for an honorable soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice for his Nation.
