[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THANKING WOLODYMYR LUCKHAN FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES DURING 
                              WORLD WAR II

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NANCY L. JOHNSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 26, 2000

  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank one of my 
constituents, Wolodymyr Luckhan, for the heroic action he took during 
World War II to save an American tank division from an enemy ambush 
near Swizel, Germany, in April 1945. Mr. Luckhan, seized by the Germans 
into forced labor, overheard the impending attack against an American 
tank force approaching the city of Swizel. Mr. Luckhan commandeered a 
boy's bicycle and peddled through German lines, risking his life to 
reach the Allied forces. Without his timely warning, the loss of 
American lives would have been considerable. Mr. Luckhan's example once 
again demonstrates that the virtue of selflessness merits recognition.
  After the war, Mr. Luckhan came to the United States, became a 
citizen and raised a family. At age 91, Mr. Luckhan still recalls the 
event that changed the course of history for so many. Walt Whitman 
wrote that ``To have great poets, there must be great audiences, too.'' 
I present Mr. Wolodymyr Luckhan as a spokesperson for freedom whose 
stage for heroism was made possible by the great audience of men and 
women who gave their lives in service of our country and those who, 
thanks to the efforts of people such as Mr. Luckhan, have survived to 
share in the quality of life that only this great nation can afford.

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