WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after introducing legislation to rename a U.S. Post Office in Castroville, Texas after Castroville’s Lance Corporal Rhonald Dain Rairdan, a U.S. Marine who was killed in the line of duty while serving on deployment in Iraq. A companion bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by the Texas delegation, led by U.S. Representatives Pete Olson (TX-22), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), and Will Hurd (TX-23).
“Lance Corporal Rhonald Dain Rairdan represented the best of Texas, with his strong commitment to serving his neighbors and by always putting others before himself,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I am proud to join my fellow Texans in honoring him this way and I ask my colleagues in the Senate to join me in supporting these bills.”
Biography of Lance Corporal Rhonald Dain Rairdan:
While Dain grew up in a military family and often moved around, he adopted Castroville as his hometown. He graduated from Medina Valley High School in 2003 where he became a member of the Medina Valley H.S. Jr. ROTC Blackhawks Drill Team. According to those closest to him, Dain always wanted to follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps to serve in the military. Upon joining the Marines in 2005, he was stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Soon after, he was deployed to the Middle East where his unit was tasked with policing at-risk cities and searching for illegal weapon stockpiles in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On January 26, 2005, Dain, alongside 30 other service members, was killed in the line of duty. Dain loved what he did and was known to be personable and outgoing to anyone he came in contact with. His main duty during his time in service was to protect and aid those who couldn’t help themselves.