[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 30, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        TRIBUTE TO ARTHUR T. LEE

                                 ______


                           HON. JENNIFER DUNN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in paying 
tribute to Arthur T. Lee of Washington State.
  As we observed Veterans Day earlier this month, I realized that most 
Americans probably do not know that this annual commemoration was 
originally called Armistice Day.
  Set aside to honor Americans who fought in World War I, November 11, 
was the day on which the truce, or armistice, ending that conflict was 
signed in France.
  Arthur Lee will remember the day's original meaning. Mr. Lee, who 
celebrated his 100th birthday on Thanksgiving Day, is one of our 
State's two surviving World War I veterans.
  To say that Mr. Lee is a survivor is misleading. He is an exceptional 
man who served his country at an extraordinary time.
  As the 20th century began, the United States was just emerging as one 
of the world's great military powers. Nevertheless, America rested in 
the waning twilight of the 19th century. Most Americans were shocked 
when Europe erupted in war in August 1914.
  We maintained our neutrality during the early years of the war, as 
the first truly mechanized war unfolded. It was a new kind of war in 
which the horrors of submarine attack, lethal gas, and aerial bombing 
were first unleashed on a mass scale.
  But when the United States declared war on Germany and the Axis 
Powers in April 1917, American history changed forever. It was in this 
conflict--America's first war on the European continent--that Art Lee 
distinguished himself.
  Born in Seattle in 1894, Mr. Lee grew up in Ballard, where he 
finished high school. But the ink on his Whitman College diploma was 
barely dry when the left for Army officer's training in May 1917. 
Commissioned a lieutenant, he sailed for Europe in July 1918.
  An infantry officer, Lieutenant Lee was in the American Expeditionary 
Force's 91st Division. With its men drawn largely from the Western 
States, it was nicknamed the ``Wild West Division.'' They were part of 
the infusion of hundreds of thousands of fresh American troops on the 
side of Europe's democracies, the turning point of the war.
  On September 26, 1918, the Battle of the Meusse Argonne began. 
Historians refer to this battle as ``the beginning of the end'' of 
World War I. Machine gun and cannon fire raged for days, during which 
young Lieutenant Lee led forces capturing strategically important 
Tronsol Farm, contributing to an American victory.
  Within weeks, the war ended. But before the Armistice was signed at 
11 a.m., November 11, 1918, casualties were heavy. The 91st Division 
suffered 1,454 dead and 4,654 wounded, including Lieutenant Lee, shot 
in the knee.
  For his bravery, Lieutenant Lee received the Distinguished Service 
Cross. France and Belgium both awarded him the Croix de Guerre with 
Palm.
  After recovering from his wound at Camp Lewis--now Ft. Lewis--near 
Tacoma, Mr. Lee went on to a successful career in business and civic 
service, living for many years in Bellevue.
  As our country paused November 11 to remember its veterans, we can be 
proud to count Mr. Arthur Lee among them. He symbolizes the patriotic 
tradition of sacrifice that has kept our country free. To you, Arthur 
Lee, and your fellow veterans, we say thank you.

                          ____________________