[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 70 (Monday, May 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF COL. CHARLES 
                                SHELTON

  (Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
American hero who disappeared 30 years ago.
  Charles Shelton was an Owensboro, KY native who was shot down over 
Laos April 29, 1965--his 33d birthday.
  His Air Force plane crash-landed, and he even made radio contact with 
friendly forces before being captured. Several reports describe Colonel 
Shelton's escape and recapture--as well as other sightings--well into 
the 1980's.
  Last year, after his children petitioned the Pentagon, Colonel 
Shelton's status was changed to presumed dead. He was the last American 
POW of the Vietnam war.
  Last year Charles Shelton was eulogized at the grave site of his 
wife, Mariam, in Arlington National Cemetery.
  Saturday, his friends and family began work on a memorial on the lawn 
of the Daviess County Courthouse. It is a fitting honor for an American 
hero.
  I rise today to remind my colleagues and the American people of the 
bravery of Charles Shelton--and to ask that the sacrifices of the 
Shelton family and so many others not be forgotten.

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