[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             TRIBUTE TO COL. WALTER J. MARM, JR., USA (RET.)

                                 ______


                        HON. JAMES C. GREENWOOD

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 1995
  Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to an 
outstanding military leader from the Eighth District of Pennsylvania 
upon his retirement from the U.S. Army.
  Colonel Joe Marm retired yesterday as the Senior Army Advisor to the 
79th Army Reserve Command Headquarters stationed at Naval Air Station 
Joint Reserve Base, Willow Grove, after more than 30 years of service 
through leadership to our country.
  Joe Marm first led men as a platoon leader with the First Cavalry in 
Vietnam, he taught at West Point, served as a legislative liaison under 
the Secretary of the Army and just prior to his most recent assignment, 
was the Chief of Staff of the 157th Separate Infantry Brigade.
  He has been awarded a chest full of medals, including the Bronze 
Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, and Army 
Commendation Medal. But it was 30 years ago this fall that he earned 
the medal worn above all others. As a young lieutenant in the vicinity 
of the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam, Joe placed his life before those of 
his fellow soldiers and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor.
  While enroute to assist another unit surrounded by enemy troops on 
that November day in 1965, Joe's platoon was forced to take cover. 
Seeing that his men were under intense fire, Joe broke away from the 
group and brought down four attackers. He then realized that a 
concealed enemy machinegun was raining fire on his platoon. In order to 
locate this weapon, he deliberately exposed himself to its bullets and 
launched an anti-tank missile in its direction. As the gun continued to 
fire, he charged the position, hurling grenades and then finally, 
although severely wounded, he finished the assault armed with only his 
rifle.
  Fellow platoon leader, Lt. Dennis Deal, recalled in Lt. General 
Harold G. Moore's bestseller, We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young, 
that ``Joe Marm saved my life that day and the lives of many others.'' 
The official certificate commended his ``gallantry on the battlefield 
and his extraordinary intrepidity at the risk of his life,'' praising 
his actions as being ``in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and 
reflecting great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of this 
country.''
  It was later confirmed that in silencing the machinegun, Joe 
singlehandedly killed a North Vietnamese officer and 11 soldiers. Joe 
Marm was the only man to receive the Medal of Honor, America's highest 
decoration for valor, in the Ia Drang Valley campaign.
  Sadly for us, the Marms will be moving on this summer, leaving 
Pennsylvania after 9 years of service to pursue other interests in 
North Carolina. From his wife Deborah's efforts to both the business 
and military communities as the past executive director of the Horsham 
Chamber of Commerce, to Joe's service to the Horsham community and the 
Army family in and around NAS Willow Grove, their move is our loss.
  But the Marm name will live on in the ranks of our Army.
  Joe Marm's youngest son, Will, plans to take the Army's oath of 
allegiance this summer as a member of West Point's entering Class of 
1999--continuing the devoted Marm family service to the defense of our 
Nation.


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