{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/legislation-to-name-portola-post-office-after-fallen-soldier-approved-by", "Legislation to Name Portola Post Office After Fallen Soldier Approved by House of Representatives", "2009-10-21", "2009", "2009-10", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "mcclintock.house.gov", "mcclintock", "https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "McCleery was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas and was deployed to Iraq. On May 2, 2009, McCleery was shot and killed at a combat outpost in Hammam Alil, Iraq, north of Baghdad.\n\n\u201cSpecialist McCleery gave his life in service of his country,\u201d Rep. McClintock said. \u201c The naming of the post office in Portola as the Army Specialist Jeremiah Paul McCleery Post Office Building will memorialize his service and sacrifice for all Americans and the people of Portola.\u201d\n\nThe measure was cosponsored by every member of California\u2019s congressional delegation.\n\nThe bill now goes to the U.S. Senate.\n\nBelow are Rep. McClintock\u2019s remarks in support of the legislation:\n\nRep. McClintock\u2019s Floor Speech\n\nHR 3319 Jeremiah P. McCleery Post Office\n\nHouse Chamber, Washington, D.C.\n\nOctober 20, 2009\n\nMr. Speaker:\n\nThis bill names the Post Office in Portola, California in honor of Army Specialist Jeremiah Paul McCleery, who grew up in that town, and who returned to it as a fallen hero at the age of 24.\n\nHis best friend was his father, Joe. A high school friend, Josh Rodgers was asked when Jeremiah was happiest. He replied, \u201cWhenever he was doing anything with his dad.\u201d When Jeremiah was four years old, his Dad took him to Twentynine Palms to welcome the triumphant return of American soldiers from the first Gulf War. As Shakespeare wrote, \u201cThis story shall the good man teach his son.\u201d\n\nIt was from that moment in 1991 that Jeremiah wanted more than anything to serve his country.\n\nJoe and Collette McCleery moved their family to the little town of Portola in 1996, where they built their home themselves \u2013 as a family. And it was in Portola where Miah McCleery grew up.\n\nIf you want a sense of the character of this young man, just spend a few minutes with those who knew him.\n\nHis older sister Lynette Flanagan tells of how Miah would take on much older bullies at school \u2013 not in his own defense, but in defense of others. She said \u201cHe once got sent to the principal's office for getting into a fight. When my mother arrived at school, Jeremiah was not sorry for his actions. He explained with pride that he stood up to a bully who had slapped a little girl. Jeremiah was never afraid to stand up for what he believed in, even if that would get him in trouble. It didn't matter if a bully was twice his size- he wouldn't back down.\u201d\n\nJeremiah was a Boy Scout, he joined the Civil Air Patrol and planned to enlist in the Army as soon as he graduated from Portola High School in 2004.\n\nBut that year his mother, Collette, was diagnosed with cancer. He stayed until she died. Then in 2007, he enlisted.\n\nWhen his sister, Chastity, begged him not to go, he said that he felt by going into the military, he was protecting his family.\n\nHe was an exemplary soldier who commanded the friendship and respect of his colleagues. While at Fort Hood, he became close friends with another Californian, Jake Velloza, and they shipped out to Iraq together.\n\nHe had fallen in love with Amanda Harazin while stationed at Fort Hood. Amanda is known as \u201cA-J\u201d to her friends, but Jeremiah called her the \u201cLove of his life.\u201d They were to have been married on May 30th.\n\nBut on May 2nd, outside of Mosul, Iraq, at a Combat Outpost in Hammam Alil, American soldiers were attacked by two gunmen wearing Iraqi Police uniforms. Two U.S. soldiers \u2013 Jeremiah McCleery and his best friend, Jake Velloza -- were killed in that attack and three others were wounded.\n\nOn May 14th \u2013 the day before he was supposed to return to a happy homecoming and impending marriage \u2013 Jeremiah McCleery returned to his hometown to be buried beside his mother. The local paper described the scene with these words, which speak volumes about the community which helped to mold this American hero:\n\n\u201cAcross the Sierra Valley people lined the highway, some with their hands over their hearts as a mark of respect. In Portola, streets were lined with flag-waving citizens. Shop owners left their stores to join in, temporarily suspending business as usual.\u201d\n\nM. Speaker, I wanted to share a little of what I\u2019ve learned about Jeremiah McCleery, because it helps to answer the question that James Michener first asked: \u201cWhere do we get such men?\u201d\n\nWe get them from the heart and soul of America. From good and decent families like the McCleerys. We get them from little towns like Portola, California.\n\nOver the summer, I had the honor to visit the men and women who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. The painstaking care and the meticulous precision with which these young men and women discharge their duties \u2013 in withering heat and in freezing cold \u2013 24 hours a day \u2013 is legendary.\n\nI asked them why they do it. And one of them told me, \u201cWe do it to tell our country that we will never forget.\u201d\n\nFor that reason I bring this bill to the House today, with the unanimous support of the Portola City Council, and the entire California Congressional Delegation and the community that watched Jeremiah McCleery grow from a boy to a man and ultimately to return as a hero. We ask that the Congress name the local post office in honor of Army Specialist Jeremiah Paul McCleery, to tell our countrymen that we will never forget.\n\nAnd also to express our awe and gratitude that humanity has within itself a small band of brothers like Jeremiah McCleery who step forward not for treasure or profit nor even to defend their own freedom, but rather to win the freedom of a people half a world away. And they do it because their country asks them and because it is virtuous and noble.\n\nWe owe these men and their grieving families a debt that we can never repay, except to honor their memory and keep their sacrifice always in mind \u2013 those who gave up everything \u201cTo proclaim liberty throughout all the land, and unto all the inhabitants thereof.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T21:15:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcclintock.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/legislation-to-name-portola-post-office-after-fallen-soldier-approved-by"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6322389710694551, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}