Dear john,

Today, my bill, H.R. 2754, was advanced in the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The bill will rename the Del Mar Post Office in Laredo after local, fallen military heroes Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza, Lance Corporal Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez, and Sergeant Roberto Arizola, Jr.

Co-sponsored by the entire Texas Congressional Delegation, H.R. 2754 is one step closer to passing in the House of Representatives.

Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza, Lance Corporal Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez, and Sergeant Roberto Arizola, Jr. paid the ultimate sacrifice in preserving our freedom. Renaming the Del Mar Post Office in Laredo will forever memorialize these local heroes and commemorate their selfless efforts. Words and actions can never replace these young men, but we can continue to honor their legacies by dedicating this post office to them.

Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza was born on July 10, 2001, in Laredo, Texas, but lived in nearby Rio Bravo, Texas all his life. He graduated from Lyndon B. Johnson High School in 2019. Shortly after graduating, he joined the United States Marine Corps. On August 26, 2021, during the withdrawal of Afghanistan, Lance Corporal Espinoza was one of 13 service members killed by a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was 20 years old.

Lance Corporal Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez lived in El Cenizo, a town near Laredo, where he attended United South High School and was involved in Junior ROTC. He led his group to a Junior RTOC national championship in 1998. After graduating high school in 2000, he joined the United States Marine Forces Reserves. He was assigned to the 1^st Battalion, 23^rd Marine Regiment, 4^th Division, Corpus Christi, Texas. On January 13, 2005, Lance Corporal Rodriguez died in action while conducting combat operations in Anbar Province, Iraq. He was 23 years old.

Sergeant Roberto Arizola, Jr. was born on December 11, 1973, in Laredo, Texas. He graduated from high school in 1992 and enlisted in the United States Army in 1996. He was assigned to the 297^th Military Intelligence Battalion, 513^th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Gordon, Georgia. Sgt. Arizola had been a border patrol agent in Laredo before being deployed to Iraq in May 2004. His family delayed their son’s birthday party so Sgt. Arizola could attend when he returned, but on June 8, 2005, a day before he was scheduled to return from Iraq, Sgt. Arizola was killed in an explosion near his vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq. He was 31 years old.

For more information on H.R. 2754, click here.