[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 56 (Monday, May 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CAPTAIN JAMES LINTON HUARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 1997.

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize U.S. Air Force 
Captain James Huard, who today was laid to rest in Arlington National 
Cemetery, 25 years after his death.
  Captain Huard was born on March 17, 1946 in Dearborn, MI. James was a 
1964 graduate of Dearborn High School, where he participated in 
basketball, choir, operettas, and track. He was also very active in his 
church.
  James went on to graduate from Central Michigan University. Upon 
completion of college, he became a math and science teacher at 
Woodworth Junior High School.
  He soon decided to follow his dream to become a fighter pilot in the 
U.S. Air Force. James learned to fly F-4E Phantoms and left his beloved 
family to go defend his country in Vietnam. James was stationed at Ubon 
Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand with the 433d Tactical Fighter Squadron. 
On July 12, 1972 Captain Huard and his weapons system officer, Captain 
Samuel O'Donnell, Jr., were reported missing when their F-4E Phantom 
disappeared from radar somewhere over North Vietnam.
  James' father passed away in 1991 without knowing the fate of his 
son. Late last year the U.S. Government was finally able to identify 
Captain Huard's remains from a group of 38, believed to be those of 
U.S. servicemen, that the Vietnamese Government returned in 1988. 
Captain Huard's remains were returned to his family on January 29 
during a ceremony in California.
  As the city's only MIA from the Vietnam War, the citizens of Dearborn 
have striven to keep the memory of James Huard alive for 25 years. The 
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 267, Dearborn, MI is named after 
him. An oak tree was dedicated in his honor in April 1973, which stands 
in front of Joshua Howard Elementary School. The James Huard Drive was 
dedicated in the fall of 1986. Finally, a monument in his honor was 
erected by the citizens of Dearborn, in front of Dearborn High School, 
where today there will be a service to coincide with the Arlington 
service. Seldom has one person engendered such an immense outpouring of 
emotion from a community.
  Today my heartfelt wishes go out to James' family--his mother, wife, 
three sons, brother, and sister--who have had to endure the pain of not 
knowing their loved one's fate for 25 years. Today James Huard, 
American patriot and hero, is home and at peace.

                          ____________________