To award the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Edinburg, Texas war hero Lance Corporal Dustin Sekula, in recognition of his heroic life.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8963 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8963 To award the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Edinburg, Texas war hero Lance Corporal Dustin Sekula, in recognition of his heroic life. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 21, 2026 Ms. De La Cruz (for herself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To award the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Edinburg, Texas war hero Lance Corporal Dustin Sekula, in recognition of his heroic life. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Lance Corporal Dustin Sekula Congressional Gold Medal Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds that: (1) Dustin Sekula was born on June 8, 1985, in Edinburg, Texas, and graduated from Edinburg North High School in 2003. (2) Dustin was a kind, loyal, and loving son and brother. (3) Dustin was skilled at ranching and loved roping steers. He used his high school lunch period to practice roping on a fake steer. (4) Dustin turned down an agriculture college scholarship to join the Marines and serve his country at the age of 17. (5) At 18, an infantry mortarman of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Dustin died due to injuries sustained from enemy fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, on April 1, 2004. (6) More than 1,000 people filled Trinity Worship Center for his funeral service. (7) Dustin is buried in Palm Valley Memorial Gardens in Pharr, Texas. (8) The Dustin Sekula Memorial Library (DMSML) located in Edinburg, Texas, is named after Marine Lance Corporal Dustin Michael Sekula. (9) He