[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 34 (Thursday, February 23, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2149-H2150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          REMEMBERING IWO JIMA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I'm here today to talk about a simple 
tribute paid by an ordinary man to one of the greatest battles and some 
of the greatest heroes in American history.
  Mr. Speaker, today this Chamber is mostly silent, and our attention 
is focused on the issues of the day.
  But 50 years ago this week, the eyes of this House--and indeed all of 
America--were focused on a small, sulfuric island in the South Pacific, 
and a group of brave young men who helped save the world.
  For 4 years, World War II had raged.
  Europe lay in ruins, millions had perished in the death camps, and 
much of the world was pitched in darkness.
  In the South Pacific, most of Japan was out of the reach of United 
States planes.
  But Franklin Roosevelt believed that if United States troops could 
gain a foothold in the South Pacific, and if our planes had a place 
nearby to land, then the enemy might soon be vanquished and the war 
might soon be over.
  Fifty years ago this week, that task fell to a group of young 
marines, in a mission called ``Operation Detachment,'' at a place 
called Iwo Jima.
  The battle was expected to take 14 days. It took 36.
  The enemy was so dug in that they were nearly invisible.
  Fighting was so fierce that one marine remarked that ``you could've 
held up a cigarette and lit it'' with all the fire flying by.
  [[Page H2150]] But with a strength of spirit forged in the hometown 
churches, and neighborhood ballfields, and the schoolrooms of America, 
these young men who had been eating Coney dogs, dancing to Glenn 
Miller, and rooting for Joe Dimaggio just a short time before helped 
turn back one of the greatest evils this world has ever known.
  There were 81 Congressional Medals of Honor awarded in all of World 
War II.
  Twenty-seven were awarded for Iwo Jima alone.
  But it was on the 5th day of fighting--50 years ago today--that Iwo 
Jima was burned into our memory.
  Because on that day a young combat photographer named Joe Rosenthall 
took one of the most inspiring photographs in the history of America.
  I'm talking, of course, about this famous photo of five marines and 
one Navy corpsman raising a triumphant American flag on Mount Suribachi 
above the sands of Iwo Jima.
  For 50 years, this photo and the great bronze memorial made in its 
image have served as a lasting tribute to the courage and bravery of 
young Americans who served this country well, and who triumphed under 
conditions most of us could hardly imagine.
  But of all the great tributes paid to the men of Iwo Jima the past 
week none is more inspiring--and I believe none speaks more to the 
heart of what it means to be an American--than the simple tribute paid 
by a sheet metal mechanic from Connecticut earlier today.
  There, in the small town of Danielson, CT--population 16,000--Rick 
Orzulak finally lived out a tribute that was 3 years in the making.
  Three years ago, Mr. Orzulak--who is a former marine himself--decided 
to pay a special tribute to the soldiers who fought at Iwo Jima.
  He decided that with the help of the members of the local Paul C. 
Houghton detachment of the Marine Corps League--of which he is a 
member--they would recreate the flag raising in the small town of 
Danielson.
  In order to do so, he decided, each person needed to be dressed 
exactly like the soldiers in the photograph--in uniforms and gear 
actually issued during World War II.
  So, 3 years ago, with the help of his wife Beverly, Mr. Orzulak 
started making phone calls.
  Using his own money, he tracked down frogskin pattern helmet covers 
from California and Montana.
  He found herringbone trousers in Virginia and Mississippi.
  He found K-bar knives in Massachusetts.
  And crossflap canteen covers in Texas.
  Until finally, one by one, each uniform was complete.
  He even tracked down a U.S. flag with 48 stars.
  And finally, in Danielson this morning, as the Star Spangled Banner 
and then the Marine Corps hymn played, five former marines and one 
former Navy corpsman--Mr. Orzulak, Arthur Blackmore, Dennis O'Connell, 
Richard Bugan, Louis Verrette, and Francis Stevens--raised the flag in 
tribute to the men of Iwo Jima.
  If you ask them why they did it, they'll say ``we did it for one 
simple reason:''
  To say ``thank you'' to the men who fought at Iwo Jima.
  And ``Semper Fi'' to the heroes who never came home.
  Mr. Speaker, today as we join Richard Orzulak and Americans 
everywhere in remembering the sacrifices made at Iwo Jima, let us be 
strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and let us 
continue to stand up for the ideals for which they lived and died.
  Let us resolve that the men who served our country will never be 
forgotten.
  Because in the end, that's the highest tribute we can pay.
  

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