[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 52 (Monday, April 22, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN LAURIE CALVIN BATTLE

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, former Alabama Congressman Laurie Calvin 
Battle will be inducted into the Birmingham-Southern College Sports 
Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 27. As a member of the Sports Hall of 
Fame's Class of 1996, Congressman Battle will be honored and recognized 
for his many athletic achievements while at Birmingham-Southern and 
since.
  Laurie Battle was born in Wilsonville, AL in 1912, attended 
elementary school in Jefferson County, and moved to my hometown, 
Tuscumbia, in 1926. He graduated from Deshler High School in 1930 and 
went on to obtain his bachelor's degree in psychology at Birmingham-
Southern, my alma mater. He later earned his master's degree in 
sociology at Ohio State University. During World War II, he served in 
the U.S. Army Air Corps, rising to the rank of major, with service in 
the Asiatic-Pacific theater. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his 
bravery and remained in the Reserves until 1972.
  He was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1946, serving four 
consecutive terms from 1947 until 1955. After retiring from the House 
of Representatives, he began a career in the insurance business in 
Birmingham. The former Congressman later served as a government 
relations executive in Washington, DC, and as staff director and 
counsel for the House of Representatives Rules Committee from 1966-76. 
He was later a special adviser to the U.S. League of Savings 
Associations.
  Laurie Battle is well-renowned for his athletic ability. Although he 
is now retired, he still plays paddleball with one of his constituents, 
former Alabama Congressman Ben Erdreich, now chairman of the U.S. Merit 
Systems Protection Board. They play twice a week in the House 
gymnasium, even as Congressman Battle approaches his 84th birthday on 
May 10. He was Ben's Congressman when he was in high school in 
Jefferson County.
  I am pleased to commend and congratulate former Congressman Laurie 
Battle for accomplishing so much during his outstanding and colorful 
career, and especially for this latest honor of being inducted into 
Birmingham-Southern's Sports Hall of Fame.

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