[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REX F. GIBSON HONORED

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. J.D. HAYWORTH

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 17, 1996

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, in the chaos of battle, victory is 
determined, not by the planning of Generals and staff officers, but by 
the leadership of the junior officers and noncommissioned officers 
[NCOs]. The Battle of Normandy was no different. In fact, the historian 
Stephen E. Ambrose, in his book ``D-Day: The Climatic Battle of World 
War II,'' wrote:

        . . . for all the inspired leadership, in the end success 
     or failure in Operation Overload came down to a relatively 
     small number of junior officers, noncoms, and privates . . . 
     if the noncoms and junior officers failed to lead their men 
     up and over the seawall to move inland in the face of enemy 
     fire-why, then the most thoroughly planned offensive in 
     military history, an offensive supported by incredible 
     amounts of naval firepower, bombs, and rockets, would fail . 
     . . It came down to a bunch of 18 to 28 year olds . . . They 
     were citizen soldiers, not professionals.

  This weekend, I will have the opportunity to participate in a 
ceremony where one of my constituents, Rex F. Gibson, a citizen-
soldier, will finally receive his Bronze Star with Valor for his 
actions in Normandy in 1944.
  Rex Gibson personified the concept of the citizen-soldier. In 1939, 
he joined the Arizona National Guard while he was in college in 
Safford, AZ. He was selected for Officer Candidate School to be 
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.
  Rex was assigned as platoon leader of the Intelligence and 
Reconnaissance Section in the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry 
Division, a National Guard Division, Rex's regiment was nicknamed the 
``Stonewallers'' after their legendary Southern commander. Gen. 
Stonewall Jackson. Rex and the stonewallers were about to become famous 
as well. They would be the first regiment of the 29th division to land 
on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy. To the horror of the 
soldiers, the Army-Air Force and the Navy did not silence the German 
machine guns or destroy the barbed wire and other obstacles on the 
beach. Their landing craft ramps opened to a wall of machine gun and 
artillery fire. Chaos broke out as soldiers tried to find safety. Rex 
and his fellow stonewallers quickly took the initiative and braved the 
machine gun fire to get a foot-hold on the beach.
  By nightfall, the beach was taken but, at a terrible price. Rex's 
regiment suffered heavily from the assault. Platoons and companies were 
decimated because they had lost so many of their soldiers on the beach. 
The 116th Regiment may have been battered, but they were not out of 
this battle yet. Rex and the Stonewallers moved forward from the beach 
into France, fighting the Germans for another month.
  The famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who later landed on Omaha 
Beach, summed up the experience with these words: `` . . . it seems to 
me a pure miracle that we ever took the beach at all.'' The miracle was 
the junior officers like Rex and the regimental NCOs who ensured that 
the beach was taken, that the battle for Normandy was victorious, and 
that the war was won.
  When the war ended, Rex came home like so many other citizen-soldiers 
to continue with his life. Until now, Rex thought he had only done his 
duty as a citizen and a patriot. He did not know that his Regiment, his 
Division, and his country thought he had done more. Back in June of 
1944, his division commander, Maj. Gen. Charles Gerhardt recommended 
him for the Bronze Star with Valor for his outstanding service during 
the Battle of Normandy.
  Mr. Speaker, 52 years is too long for anyone to wait to be properly 
recognized for their service to their country. I want to thank Rex for 
his dedication and patriotism.

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