| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Post office to be named after Duarte Marine killed in Iraq
Thursday June 19, 2003DUARTE, Calif. (AP) A post office in this suburb 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles will be named after a Marine and hometown hero who was killed in Iraq, government officials said Thursday.
The House Government Reform Committee approved the legislation Thursday that will name a Duarte post office after Francisco Martinez Flores. Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, said her bill was backed by all 52 members of California's congressional delegation.
``I am pleased that the committee recognized the importance of paying tribute to a local hero,'' Solis said. ``He is one of many more individuals who are willing to die because they love this country and believe in its democratic freedoms.''
Martinez died in March when his tank tumbled from a collapsing bridge over the Euphrates River. He was one of two Marines killed in the crash.
Martinez, who moved to California from Mexico City when he was 3, had been scheduled to take the oath of citizenship in April. He was granted posthumous citizenship by President Bush.
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