William J. Donovan Post Office Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1706, and I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 1706, to designate the United States Post Office on William Street in Buffalo, New York, as the William J. Donovan Post Office.

This is a simple bill with a profound purpose: to honor an extraordinary American whose life of service helped shape the course of our Nation's history and the security of the free world.

In 1883, William J. Donovan was born and subsequently raised in Buffalo's Old First Ward to first-generation Irish Americans, Timothy and Anna Donovan.

Donovan attended St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, my alma mater, where he developed the leadership skills that would define the course of his life. From there, Donovan attended Niagara University before transferring to Columbia University. After earning his degree, Donovan spent 2 years at Columbia Law School, where he was a classmate of future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Those beginnings shaped a man who would bring the values of western New York with him onto the global stage: courage, grit, and an unwavering commitment to something greater than himself.

During World War I, Donovan was tapped to lead the 165th Infantry (69th New York), known to many as the Fighting 69th Regiment. Donovan proudly took the helm of the unit that once included dozens of Irish- American soldiers from Buffalo's Old First Ward, who bravely fought for the Union during the Civil War.

As a Lieutenant Colonel, Donovan distinguished himself as a fearless leader under fire. In 1923, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism at the Battle of Landres-et-Saint-Georges where, despite sustaining three bullet wounds, he refused to leave the battlefield until all of his men were accounted for.

It was this intrepid bravery that gave rise to the legend of Wild Bill Donovan, seizing the Nation's imagination and securing his place as an enduring American hero. Despite having already established a national reputation during World War I, some of Donovan's most consequential contributions to our Nation were still to come.

After the Great War, Donovan served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York, where he became well known for being a vigorous crime fighter. He later served as an Assistant Attorney General under President Calvin Coolidge.

In World War II, at a moment when the world stood on the brink of destruction, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt turned to his former classmate to build something entirely new--a centralized intelligence capability that could meet the demands of a modern global conflict.

Donovan once again answered the call to serve our country, becoming the founding Director of the Office of Strategic Services, the OSS. Under his leadership, the OSS broke new ground. It coordinated intelligence gathering, carried out covert operations, and worked hand in hand with Allied forces and resistance movements across Nazi- occupied Europe.

In recognition of his wartime heroics, Donovan was promoted to brigadier general in March 1943. By November 1944, he earned the esteemed rank of major general in the United States Army. His efforts helped turn the tide of the war and contributed directly to the Allied victory.

Donovan knew that, in a rapidly changing world, intelligence would be central to protecting our Nation and advancing our interests.

The foundation he built with the OSS became the blueprint for what we now know as the Central Intelligence Agency, positioning the United States as a global leader in national security throughout the Cold War and beyond and up through today.

For these reasons, Donovan is rightly remembered as the Father of American Intelligence, and his legacy lives on in the institutions that protect our country every single day.

William J. Donovan's legacy belongs not only to Buffalo and western New York, but to our entire Nation. This designation is a recognition that honors a true American hero, whose leadership, bravery, and foresight helped shape the world we live in today.

I thank the entirety of the New York delegation for working with me in advancing this cause, and I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1706.

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Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from New York, and I hope the body will join me in passing this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

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