[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 149 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            A TRIBUTE TO LT. COL. CLAUDE V. ``JIM'' MEADOWS

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 29, 1997

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Lt. 
Col. Claude V. ``Jim'' Meadows, who retires this week after 25 years of 
faithful and honorable service to our Nation in the U.S. Army.
  Lieutenant Colonel Meadows is a truly outstanding soldier whose 
career accomplishments reflect the type of military leader our Nation 
has depended upon during peace and war for more than 200 years. For the 
information of my colleagues, let me share with you some of Lieutenant 
Colonel Meadows' career milestones.
  He enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 1966. After Basic Training 
at Fort Bragg, NC, Lieutenant Colonel Meadows was assigned to the 75th 
Engineers in Fort Lewis, WA, and from there reassigned to the 10th 
Transportation Battalion in the Republic of Vietnam. His arrival 
coincided with the onset of the Tet Offensive of 1968. Following 12 
months of courageous duty in the Central Highlands, the Army recognized 
his exceptional abilities and reassigned Lieutenant Colonel Meadows to 
be an instructor at the United States Army Quartermaster School at Fort 
Lee, VA, where he helped train soldiers until he completed his 
enlistment and left the Army to attend college.
  Lieutenant Colonel Meadows graduated from Old Dominion University's 
Reserve Officers Training Corps Program on May 11, 1975 and was 
commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps. 
During the next seven years, he served in a mix of troop leading and 
hospital assignments at Fort Campbell, KY, the home of the 101st 
Airborne Division, Air Assault, and Fort Lee, VA.
  While at Fort Campbell, he served as the field medical officer for 
the 20th Engineer Battalion. There he received the Division Commander's 
Award for Excellence for his work in providing medical support. 
Lieutenant Colonel Meadows pursued and completed his masters degree in 
systems management and his abilities in this field were quickly 
recognized by the medical community as he was reassigned to the 
hospital as the Administrator for the Department of Medicine. In the 
words of one staff physician, ``Jim constantly afforded an air of 
encouragement. He remained patient with us when we, and I in 
particular, grew impatient. He demonstrated a self-sacrificing concern 
when detachment would have been far easier. He remained continually 
sensitive to needs which, at times, must have been very painful to 
reckon with. He persisted with remarkable endurance in pursuing 
objectives which frequently must have tempted him to give up.''
  Lieutenant Colonel Meadows once again demonstrated his excellence as 
a professional soldier and medical administrator as an operations 
officer at the Kenner Army Community Hospital. His commitment to duty 
and his strong leadership qualities led to his being identified to the 
Chief, Medical Service Corps as an extremely valuable asset to the 
Medical Service Corps and the Army. Lieutenant Colonel Meadows was 
selected for programs at military schools and additional graduate work 
and completed a masters degree in business administration. With his 
MBA, Lieutenant Colonel Meadows' career focus moved toward resource 
management and military comptrollership. As a resource manager, he 
served at the Tripler Army Medical Center, where he was awarded the 
Order of Military Medical Merit, an award for his exemplary 
contribution to the Army's Medical Department.

  Lieutenant Colonel Meadows has spent the last 8 years of his Army 
career in the National Capital Area as the Comptroller of the hospital 
at Fort Belvoir, as a program and budget officer for the Army's Surgeon 
General, and for the past 4 years as the Army's liaison with my 
colleagues and I on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National 
Security. As the chairman of the Subcommittee, I can tell you that 
Lieutenant Colonel Meadows has worked diligently with our members and 
staff through four complete legislative cycles in the areas of health 
care, personnel, and aviation programs. Through his work with our 
subcommittee, he has made a significant difference in the lives of his 
fellow soldiers and their families.
  Lieutenant Colonel Meadows has been widely recognized and honored 
during his service. These awards include the Legion of Merit, five 
awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, 
the Army Achievement Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of 
Vietnam Campaign Medal, a Meritorious Unit Citation, a Republic of 
Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, the Expert Field Medical Badge, 
and the Army Staff Badge.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to pay tribute today to the 25 years 
of service Lt. Col. Jim Meadows has given to our Nation. He is an 
officer who befits the Army's proudest traditions. He has dedicated 
himself to the peace and freedom that we as Americans enjoy today. On 
behalf of my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee and our 
National Security Subcommittee, as well as all my colleagues in the 
House, I want to personally express our sincere appreciation to Lt. 
Col. Jim Meadows and wish him and his family all the best as he embarks 
on a new career.

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