[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H9455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SPECIAL CEREMONY FOR STEPHEN D. BAKRAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Stupak] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to your attention and 
that of the U.S. House of Representatives a special ceremony that will 
be held this Friday, August 2, in Wells, MI, in my congressional 
district.
  On Friday, the family of Navy aviation Radioman Second Class Stephen 
D. Bakran will gather at the gardens of Rest Memorial Park in Wells, 
MI, as his remains are laid to rest.
  It is the tradition of our Nation to honor our war dead. What makes 
the ceremony for Airman Bakran so special is the fact that this 
important closure for the family comes more than five decades after 
this young man was killed in action.
  From Navy officials and other sources, we know that Stephen Bakran 
was part of a special bombing squadron on a unique mission assigned to 
the U.S.S. Ranger, CV-4, the first ship built from the keel up as an 
aircraft carrier.
  Stephen Bakran came to be aboard the Ranger after enlisting in the 
Navy on June 27, 1941, only weeks after his graduation from high 
school.
  The eldest son in a Catholic family of 11 children, Stephen is 
remembered by family, friends, teachers, and others as an honest, hard 
working, caring individual.
  The son of Croatian immigrants, Stephen is recalled in his role as a 
money earner for the family on his paper route, a dutiful son working 
in the family garden or tending the farm animals, and a responsible 
sibling changing and washing diapers of his younger brothers and 
sisters.
  Airman Bakran is part of the first U.S. carrier based mission launch 
against Nazi-held Norway. Code named Operation Leader, the planes of 
the mission sank Nazi shipping and caused other damage at the cost of 
two SBD-5 Dauntless scout bombers. One of these bombers that were 
downed claimed the lives of Stephen Bakran and his pilot, Lieutenant 
Clyde A. Tucker, Jr. of Alexandria, LA.
  Reports say that Stephen Bakran was still firing his machine gun as 
his plane went down on October 4, 1943.
  Although the Navy listed Stephen Bakran and Clyde Tucker as killed in 
action, it was not until 1990 that a Norwegian diving club and a 
Norwegian historical research vessel found the wreckage of the aircraft 
off the coast of Bodo, Norway, in 150 feet of water.

  It was not until July of 1993 that divers were able to locate and 
recover the two aviators. The remains of Clyde Tucker were identified 
in 1994 and are buried in Arlington National Cemetery. However, DNA 
tests did not conclusively identify the remains of Stephen Bakran until 
this year.
  I am pleased that I was able to assist the family by working with our 
military officials during the identification process, and now I am 
extremely grateful to everyone, including those who helped to find, 
identify and transport Steve Bakran back to his family where they will 
be able to find a final resting place for this fallen warrior.
  Today as we watch other families struggle with the tragedies of the 
disappearance of loved ones in a dark watery grave, we find comfort in 
witnessing that the search for our military missing in action never 
ends and the door of hope, hope that they may be found, never closes.
  Mr. Speaker, let us remember the Bakran family in our thoughts and 
prayers on Friday. I regret that I will not be able to attend the 
funeral, as I will be here attending to legislative business. The 
Bakran family, the Wells and Escanaba community will be at Steve's 
funeral, but my family will join the Bakran family in a final salute to 
our World War II Navy veteran who is laid to rest.

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