Lynn A. Westmoreland: “Mr. McCARTHY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the legislation, S. 2110, to designate the…”

“Mr. McCARTHY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the legislation, S. 2110, to designate the United States Post Office located at 427 North Street in Taft, California, as the Larry S. Pierce Post Office, the true hometown hero. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Pierce was born in Oklahoma in 1941. As a young child, his family moved to Taft, California, which I represent today. Sergeant Pierce attended Taft city schools and would have graduated from Taft Union High School with the class of 1959 but decided to serve his country by joining the U.S. Army in 1958. Sergeant Pierce served in the 1st Battalion Airborne, 503rd Infantry and the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the Vietnam War. On September 20, 1965, near Ben Cat in Vietnam, Sergeant Pierce was leading his reconnaissance platoon, was ambushed by hostile forces. Sergeant Pierce and his squad successfully routed the hostile forces from their location. During pursuit of this enemy, Sergeant Pierce heroically sacrificed his own life to save his men. He came upon a road where they found a mine. He threw himself upon it knowing that if this mine went off, it would destroy many and take many lives of his own men.”