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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Post office to be named after Duarte Marine killed in Iraq
Thursday June 19, 2003
DUARTE, 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.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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