Paul Ignatius Post Office

Floor Speech

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Ms. FRIEDMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill to designate the United States Postal Service facility on San Fernando Road in Glendale, California, as the Paul Ignatius Post Office.

Let me start by thanking my colleagues for bringing this legislation to the floor and giving us the opportunity to come together, set aside our differences, and honor a truly outstanding American.

Paul Ignatius was born in Glendale in 1920 to Armenian immigrant parents who escaped horrific persecution and genocide overseas. They put down roots on San Fernando Road, the same street where, as a young man, Paul clerked at the post office that will carry his name should this bill pass.

Paul went on to answer the call in World War II as a naval officer and served 8 years across two Presidential administrations as Assistant Secretary of the Army, Under Secretary of the Army, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and, ultimately, as Secretary of the Navy.

He earned too many awards to list here today, but they include the Army, Navy, and Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Awards. The Navy named a guided-missile destroyer after him, the USS Paul Ignatius.

After serving our Nation in the military, he went home and kept giving back to his community well past his 100th birthday. Sadly, he passed away last fall at the age of 104.

As we approach our Nation's 250th anniversary, I keep coming back to his story, the son of Armenian immigrants who fled persecution and built a new life in this country, who answered the call to serve under Presidents of both parties, and who went home and continued giving back to their community until the very end.

He is the kind of American we should all aspire to be.

There is a reason this legislation has brought together the California delegation, Democrats, Republicans, and an Independent, because there is nothing partisan about honoring a patriot like Paul Ignatius. It is simply the right thing for us all to do.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues again for their support, and I urge passage of this bill.

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