Hurd Leads Effort to Honor Castroville Fallen Veteran

Today I honored Castroville fallen veteran by introducing a bill to rename the Castroville post office after him. The bipartisan H.R. 4785 officially designates the local post office as the “Lance Corporal Rhonald Dain Rairdan Post Office.” I was joined by the entire Texas House delegation in this effort.

Lance Corporal Rairdan embodied the Marine Corps slogan ‘Semper Fi’ – he was always faithful to his family, his friends and his brothers and sisters in arms. His commitment to his country left an unwavering impact on the lives of those he knew and all of those with whom he served. While his legacy will undoubtedly live on through his family and all of those who knew him, the renaming of the Castroville, Texas post office in his name will further honor his sacrifice to our nation. I thank my Texas colleagues for joining me in this bipartisan effort to allow folks in Castroville to remember him and honor his memory and life of service for future generations.

Rhonald Dain Rairdan was born on April 22, 1984 in Eglin AFB, FL to David and Kimberly Wilmot Rairdan of San Antonio. Although he was raised in an Air Force family and lived many different places, he loved Castroville and considered it his adopted hometown. He graduated from Medina Valley High School in 2003, where he was a member of the Medina Valley High School Air Force Jr. ROTC Blackhawks Drill Team. It was in Castroville and through the Air Force JROTC program that he realized he wanted to be one of the few, and the proud. After joining the United States Marine Corps in 2005, he was stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, as part of the 1st Battalion 3d Marine Regiment. Twenty-year-old Dain, as he was called by his friends and family, was very personable and enjoyed life. He remarked that as a Marine, he was doing what he wanted to do his whole life and enjoyed it.

Four months after joining the Marine Corps, Rairdan was deployed to the Middle East to join the Marine-led offensive to take control of Fallujah. Rairdan’s unit was tasked with hunting for weapons stockpiles and policing the damaged city as residents tried to regain a sense of normalcy. Tragically, during his last mission before leaving Iraq, Rairdan and 30 other service members were killed when their helicopter crashed in western Iraq.

Just as Castroville made him feel right at home, the Lance Corporal Rhonald Dain Rairdan Post Office will allow folks in Castroville to remember him and honor his dedicated service – and of all those who have sacrificed for our country – for future generations.

 

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