[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 151 (Monday, November 1, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING WWI VETERAN, JOHN STRONG

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 1, 1999

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor World War I 
veteran, John Strong, Mess Attendant 3rd Class, U.S. Navy. The 
Government of France has approved Mr. Strong for the award of The 
National Order of the Legion of Honor.
  The National Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest honor France 
bestows on its citizens and foreign nationals. It is presented in 
gratitude for the American valor in France during World War I and in 
recognition of the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Armistance on 
November 11, 1918.
  John Strong is 101 years old, and a long time resident of Fresno and 
the San Joaquin Valley. He served as a Mess Attendant 3rd Class with 
the U.S. Navy in World War I. He left for Brest, France on the U.S.S. 
Passtora and served aboard a submarine in France. John Strong vividly 
remembers surviving a torpedo missile attack by the Germans. The 
torpedo landed three or four feet away from the submarine that he was 
on and many sailors were killed as a result of the attack. Mess 
Attendant 3rd Class Strong was one of the few fortunate sailors to 
survive and he has never forgotten this incident. He was honorably 
discharged from the U.S. Navy on September 25,1919.
  John Strong has since been a minister of the Gospel of the Jesus 
Christ Church. He entered into the ministry in 1929 and over the years 
has pastored in five churches. He was an active minister until 1998.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to honor the Reverend Strong for his dedication 
to the U.S. Navy. I urge my colleagues to join me in wishing John 
Strong many more years of continued success in life.

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