[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 72 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING JOHN ``DOC'' TYNAN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 12, 2000

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my very dear friend, 
neighbor, and former colleague in the Massachusetts Legislature, 
Representative John ``Doc'' Tynan who is celebrating his Eightieth 
Birthday.
  Mr. Speaker, few people I've ever known could match the strength and 
character of Doc Tynan. Whether as the toughest, most tenacious All 
Scholastic Left End to play Football for South Boston High School, or 
as the man who's probably raised more money for local charitable 
organizations than anyone I've ever known, everything Doc Tynan does, 
he does one hundred percent. And no one could ever say that Doc isn't 
exactly the same fellow all the time. No matter who he's with or where 
he happens to be, Doc tells it like it is.
  Not a lot of people know this, Mr. Speaker, but Doc Tynan was an 
Executive Officer and Bombardier in World War II. He flew a total of 
twenty-five missions, and commanded both Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart. 
And, true to form, Doc survived five plane crashes in Europe. In fact, 
he only bailed out of planes twice. One time, his B-17 was shot down 
over Germany, but limped along as far as the English Coast. Major Doc 
Tynan parachuted out of the crippled plane in pitch darkness, not 
knowing where they were. He crawled to a house in the countryside and 
after identifying himself as an American soldier, he was taken to the 
hospital to treat his broken leg.
  The other three times he stayed with the plane and did his level best 
to land. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air 
Medal with four clusters. No wonder, as a State Representative Doc made 
it to the Committee on Ways and Means in the Massachusetts House. If 
there's one thing you can say about Doc, Mr. Speaker, it's that when 
there's a job to be done, Doc Tynan has always been there with both the 
way and the means to not only get the job done, but to get it done to 
perfection, never for his own benefit, but for the good of others and 
the community he loves.
  Among Doc's many accomplishments, he was the Democratic Whip in the 
Massachusetts House and chaired Committees on Veterans Services and 
Legislative Research. He was the Budget Director of the Massachusetts 
House, President of the South Boston Neighborhood House, Chairman of 
the Gate of Heaven Fund raiser, and a member of the Board of Trustees 
of the New England College of Optometry.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to wish my very dear friend a very 
happy Eightieth Birthday and to thank him for everything he's done for 
the men and women and boys and girls of South Boston.
  Happy Birthday, Doc!




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