Jimmy Panetta: “Obviously, I thank Representative Foster for yielding me this time. I also thank Chairman McHenry for that very…”

“Obviously, I thank Representative Foster for yielding me this time. I also thank Chairman McHenry for that very comprehensive and exact description of this piece of legislation and his kind words. Mr. Speaker, I do rise today, as well, to support the Everett Alvarez, Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act. This legislation would award the Congressional Gold Medal to retired United States Naval Commander Everett Alvarez, Jr., who was the first aviator captured in the Vietnam war, but also the second longest-serving prisoner of war in the history of our Nation. A native son of Salinas, California, in Monterey County, Everett Alvarez has made immense contributions to our country. While growing up, he always wanted to be in the U.S. Navy. As a kid in an immigrant family, surrounded by other immigrant families in his neighborhood, he was instilled with that sense of service, that attitude that he should always give back to the country that gave he and his family so much opportunity. He attended Santa Clara University where he earned a degree in electrical engineering and remains a lifetime member of the board of fellows. While he was at SCU, Alvarez would stare at the naval jets flying over campus that were going in and out of the nearby Navy base at Moffett Airfield in Mountain View. Right before he graduated in 1960, he took, and he passed the exams to join the Navy and train as a pilot.…”