[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   IN HONOR OF OUR NATION'S VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 1999

  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of Memorial Day, on May 29, 
1999, I had the honor of delivering the keynote address at the 
rededication and 50th anniversary celebration of the Lilly-Washington 
War Memorial in Lilly, Pennsylvania, a town of fewer than 2,000 people.
  As part of the ceremony, we made special recognition of two 
individuals who made sacrifices in their own right in serving our 
country.
  With my assistance, James A. Lego, Jr., of Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, 
was presented with the following medals that he had been awarded as a 
member of the 1st Infantry Division, 16th Regiment, but never received:
  The Silver Star, on July 20, 1944.
  The Bronze Star for Meritorious Service.
  Two Purple Hearts for wounds received April 16, 1943 and July 14, 
1944.
  The Distinguished Unit Badge and two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Good 
Conduct Medal, Pre-Pearl Harbor Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Five 
Overseas Bars and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service 
Medal with one Silver Star and one Bronze Service Star.
  We also unveiled a monument in recognition of the late Mrs. Esther 
McCabe, a native of Lilly, for her dedication to her country. In 1944 
Mrs. McCabe was honored as ``America's Number One War Mother'' because 
10 of her sons were serving in the military. Another son enlisted in 
1945. We were honored to have present for the ceremony, two of her 
sons, Leo and James McCabe, who served in World War II.
  In the summer of 1944, Leo McCabe was serving in the Army in Normandy 
after the D-Day invasion. On a very hot day in Arance, a German fighter 
plane came over the town and saw a number of gas trucks moving down the 
road. The Germans hit the lead truck with a rocket, causing it to 
ignite. While the driver of the truck was able to escape, a young boy 
who was with him was caught in the flames.
  Leo McCabe left the crowd and ran into the flames, the only person 
willing to risk his life to save the boy. McCabe emerged from the truck 
with the boy in his arms and McCabe's own clothing on fire, as well as 
the boy's. McCabe carried the boy to a field, where the flames were 
extinguished. He then put the young man into a jeep to be rushed to a 
hospital. Leo McCabe saved the boy's life with this action.
  Earlier this year, when asked to comment on his actions for a local 
newspaper reporter, Leo McCabe said simply ``That was no big deal,'' 
and when asked on May 29th to address the crowd at the ceremony, Leo 
McCabe chose not to make a comment and sat proudly with his family. 
When given the opportunity, Mrs. McCabe's other son who was present, 
James McCabe, did step up to the microphone, pointed his hand to his 
left, said ``I worked at that mine over there,'' and then sat down.
  Like thousands of Americans who were called upon to serve their 
country in World War II, these three men: James Lego, Leo McCabe, and 
James McCabe, answered that call and served their country proudly. 
After the war, they returned home, went to work in the steel mills or 
in the coal mines like James did, and life went on.
  It was a distinct honor for me to be able to recognize on this 
occasion the sacrifices made by James Lego and the entire McCabe family 
in fighting for our freedom in World War II.

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