Rubén Hinojosa: “I wanted to come before the House of Representatives to pay tribute to fallen heroes. My south Texas district is again…”

“I wanted to come before the House of Representatives to pay tribute to fallen heroes. My south Texas district is again mourning the loss of three more such heroes, Sergeant Juan Calderon, Jr., Specialist Tomas Garces, and Specialist Mark Anthony Zapata. My district has now lost six brave men. The Rio Grande Valley of south Texas as a whole has lost one soldier in Afghanistan and 10 in Iraq. This represents more than 1 percent of the total lives lost in the war in Iraq. Sergeant Juan Calderon, Jr., was a 26-year-old rifleman in the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based in Camp Pendleton, California. Although he was born and raised in Weslaco, Texas, many of his family live in the Minnesota district of my good friend, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht), who is joining me tonight. Juan had been a Marine for more than 3 years and had received numerous awards and medals. An avid football player, he and his wife, Ana Maria, were anxiously awaiting the birth of their first child this month. Juan was killed on August 2 conducting security and stability operations in Anbar Province in Iraq. He will never see his son, who will bear his name, Juan Andres Calderon.”