[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3752-H3753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MEDALS OF HONOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. King). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share some good news about 
well-deserved recognition of three American heroes and the role of the 
Congress in attaining their highest honor and distinction in our 
country.
  Four years ago, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 1996 created a process to permit Members of Congress to obtain 
reviews of military decoration recommendations for merit, even though 
the time limits established in the law would normally preclude such 
consideration.
  Since then, many heroic acts have been properly but belatedly 
recognized. Many of these heroic acts would have gone unnoticed had it 
not been for Members of Congress demanding fair hearings of the facts 
and circumstances.
  Mr. Speaker, today I want to focus on three cases of valor which 
Congress will soon formally recognize by making possible the award of 
our Nation's highest decoration for bravery and combat, the Medal of 
Honor.
  I will start with the recommendation from my colleague, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Ewing), that Corporal Andrew J. Smith of the 55th 
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry be posthumously awarded the Medal of 
Honor for his actions on November 30, 1864, at the Civil War Battle of 
Honey Hill in South Carolina.
  Mr. Smith, from Clinton, Illinois, volunteered to serve in the 55th 
Massachusetts. The battle that day had brought the 55th to a narrow 
bridge in front of a Confederate stronghold on the hill. The 55th 
joined another regiment in filing across the bridge in the face of 
withering enemy fire.
  The officers leading the charge were killed immediately. The 
commander was wounded and trapped under his dead horse.
  In a fight that would see one-half the unit's officers and a third of 
the enlisted men killed or wounded, the regimental colors, that 
critical symbol that is the heart of any unit, had been put at risk.
  The flag bearer had been blown to pieces by an exploding shell. 
Corporal Smith ignored his own safety and grabbed the regimental colors 
from the hand of the dead sergeant. He then maneuvered through the 
heavy grape and canister being fired at close range and carried the 
colors to safety, thereby leading his men.
  His actions are of conspicuous valor and, therefore, worthy of the 
Medal of Honor.
  The next case involves the recommendation from Senator Daniel Akaka 
to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Technician Fifth Grade 
James K. Okubo, Medical Detachment, 442 Regimental Combat Team, for his 
actions on October 28, 29, and November 4 of 1944 near Biffontaine, 
France.
  Technician Fifth Grade Okubo and his compatriots in the highly 
decorated Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team had fought 
through Italy and were engaging German forces in France in the fall of 
1944.
  During the battle, while subjected to continuous machine gun, mortar, 
and artillery fire, this soldier coolly and efficiently rendered first 
aid to 25 wounded soldiers. On two occasions, he crawled 150 yards to 
points within 40 yards of enemy lines to evacuate wounded comrades.
  On November 4, he ran 75 yards through deadly machine gun fire, and 
while exposed to intense enemy fire directed at him, he evacuated a 
seriously wounded crewman from a burning tank.
  His actions on these days are of conspicuous valor and, therefore, 
make him worthy of the Medal of Honor.
  The third case involves the recommendation by Senator John McCain to 
award the Medal of Honor to Captain Ed W. Freeman, 229th Assault 
Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, for his actions on November 
14, 1965, at landing zone X-ray during the battle of the IDrang Valley, 
the Republic of Vietnam.
  Captain Freeman was flying resupply missions into the now famous 
landing zone X-ray, one of the hottest and most embattled LZs of the 
Vietnam War.
  U.S. forces were reporting heavy casualties and a shortage of water 
and supplies. The Medevac helicopter had tried to land but was driven 
off by intense enemy fire.
  Despite these dangers, Captain Freeman ignored the enemy fire and 
repeatedly flew into the landing zone X-ray carrying in supplies and 
lifting out the wounded. He flew a total of 14 missions to a landing 
zone that was just 100 meters from the defensive perimeter, and he 
evacuated 30 seriously wounded soldiers from the LZ that would not have 
otherwise lived. He quit flying that day several hours after dark only 
after all the wounded had been evacuated.

[[Page H3753]]

  His actions are of conspicuous valor and, therefore, worthy of the 
Medal of Honor.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that the legal barriers that have 
prevented these heroes from being recognized will be lifted in 
legislation soon to be enacted by Congress.
  As a result, these heroic individuals will soon be recipients of the 
Medal of Honor and we have set the record straight and we have touched 
for a moment that which is at the heart of our pride in being American.

                          ____________________