[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 70 (Wednesday, June 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TRIBUTE TO SENATOR THURMOND

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, from President Clinton to Queen Elizabeth to 
Lech Walesa, there were many world leaders on the beaches of Normandy 
this past week. But no doubt about it, the most important people there 
were not the Presidents and Prime Ministers. Rather, they were the men 
who had landed on Normandy 50 years ago--the veterans of D-day.
  Today, many of them are retired from the workplace. Then, however, 
they were part of an army that would turn the tide of the war, and, in 
doing so, would turn the tide of history. It was a true honor for me 
and other Senators to meet and talk with many of these courageous 
Americans when we attended the D-day anniversary activities, and before 
that, the ceremony in Italy.
  Today, I want to pay tribute to a soldier who was unable to make the 
return trip to Normandy last week--a soldier who helped make history 
then, and who continues to make history today.
  As a judge in South Carolina in 1941, Strom Thurmond was exempt from 
the draft. But, as we all know, Strom Thurmond is not the type of 
American who likes to sit on the sidelines. And he volunteered for 
service the day war was declared.
  Originally assigned to sit at a desk, Strom Thurmond volunteered to 
go to the front, and to risk his life for freedom. And on D-day, Major 
Thurmond had the very dangerous assignment of landing a glider behind 
enemy lines.
  During the landing, Major Thurmond was injured, and was bleeding from 
the right forehead, his right knee, and his right arm. But he simply 
told the medic to ``put some bandages on me,'' and he went back to 
action.

  Senator Thurmond would continue with the Allied forces as they fought 
their way on to Paris, through Belgium and the very bloody Battle of 
the Bulge, and on to the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration 
camp.
  During his service, Senator Thurmond would be awarded 18 decorations, 
including 5 Battle Stars, a Purple Heart, and a Bronze Star for valor.
  Fifty years after D-day, Strom Thurmond continues to fight for 
freedom each and every day. And even though his son's high school 
graduation prevented him from returning to Normandy, the courage and 
patriotism he has exhibited throughout his life will always be 
remembered.

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