[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY TO COL. THOMAS DICKINSON OF BROWN COUNTY, OH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 1997

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, Brown County, OH will celebrate the 100th 
birthday of its oldest veteran, Col. Thomas Dickinson, tomorrow at the 
American Legion Hall in Georgetown. Colonel Dickinson has been an 
active member of the American Legion for 65 years and is a past 
commander of the Georgetown Post. His life story is a truly remarkable 
example of patriotism and service.
  Colonel Dickinson tried for 18 months to enlist in the Army during 
World War I, but was told by Army doctors that his flat feet and bad 
heart would keep him out of the service. Nonetheless, he kept trying, 
and was finally allowed to enlist as a private in 1940--at the age of 
43. He served in Europe during the war, in 1946, became Commissioner of 
Foreign Claims for Berlin. After leaving the military in 1947, he was 
recalled in 1949 and was sent to Korea in 1951, where he served as a 
public information officer. During his service in World War II and 
Korea, he earned 15 service medals, including the Bronze Star.
  He retired from active duty in 1955, and began work as a legal 
adviser with the Army Corps of Engineers in 1960. His work with the 
Corps brought him to Georgetown, and he has kept his home in Brown 
County ever since, where he and his wife, Eloise, live on U.S. 52 along 
the Ohio River. I wish him an enjoyable 100th birthday and many more to 
come.

                          ____________________