[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 44 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO JERRY CLEVELAND WHITMIRE
______
HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Thursday, March 29, 2001
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Jerry
Cleveland Whitmire who passed away on December 19, 2000. Mr. Whitmire
was a loyal servant of his community and of his country as an infantry
officer in Korea and Vietnam. I believe the eulogy given by Reverend
Charles M. Blackmon gives the most appropriate praise to this wonderful
South Carolinian. Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me today in honoring
Mr. Whitmire.
Eulogy for Jerry Cleveland Whitmire
December 19, 2000
We are gathered, this afternoon, for a soldier's funeral.
On his last journey in this world, Jerry Cleveland Whitmire--
``Trigger''--will be draped in the flag of the United States
of America, the flag for which he fought. And he will be
escorted at each step by an Honor Guard, fellow soldiers of
the United States Army.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have presided at more military
funerals than I can possibly count. I am always impressed by
the dignity and precision of the Honor Guard. I am also
impressed by something else: These superbly trained soldiers
are here for a specific purpose. They are here to remind us
that it is not only family and friends who have come here to
say farewell to Jerry. A grateful nation has also come here
to say farewell. America is here to say farewell to a son, a
dutiful servant, a hero.
It strikes me that to truly understand and appreciate this
man, we need to look at his roots. We need to go back two
generations to Jerry's grandfather and namesake, Jeremiah
Cleveland Whitmire. Jeremiah was born in 1838. He was a
blacksmith and yeoman farmer in the foothills of upper
Greenville County. He did not own slaves--no Whitmire ever
owned slaves. And when the legislature here in Columbia voted
to secede from the Union, Jeremiah might not have agreed with
all the reasons.
But Jeremiah was a man of duty and loyalty. When the war
came, he hiked north to Ashville, where he mustered with the
14th North Carolina. In the ensuing years, he fought with
gallantry in the Army of Northern Virginia: at Richmond,
Spotsylvania Courthouse, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, to the
bitter end at Appomattox. At the conclusion of the war, his
duty done, Jeremiah walked the hundreds of miles back to his
beloved farm in Greenville.
Let me say this: Jeremiah would have been very, very proud
of his grandson Jerry. He would have been proud that Jerry
chose to go to The Citadel. He would have been proud of
Jerry's decision to go into the infantry. He would have been
proud that in the bitterest, coldest engagements in Korea,
Jerry stood and fought at the point of maximum danger--as
commander of rifle company on the front line. He would have
understood Jerry's agony when a comrade fighting at his side,
an African-American, sustained a terrible wound in the chest.
Jerry cradled that man in his arms as he died.
Likewise, Jeremiah would have been proud of Jerry's combat
service in Vietnam. He would have been proud that when the
rest of America had become divided and uncertain--Jerry
remained resolute and dutiful. Jerry was a soldier--he
volunteered for a second combat tour in Vietnam.
And finally, Jeremiah would have been proud that at the end
of the fighting, Jerry always returned to that same farm in
upper Greenville County--land that Whitmires have farmed for
more than two centuries. Jerry worked that land as a dairyman
and cattleman throughout his adult life. He loved it with all
his heart. Right up to the last, Jerry was happiest when he
was tending his cattle, walking the bottomlands, jumping over
creeks, climbing the highest hills. On that farm, Jerry
Whitmire was at home.
Of course, for family and friends gathered here, we do not
remember Jerry as a fierce warrior. We remember him as the
gentlest of gentlemen--a man who was always full of laughter,
a man who loved to make other people laugh. I'm told that, at
the golf clubhouse at Fort Jackson, they serve a brew called
``Trigger Beer'' in recognition of his good spirits.
Jerry Whitmire was not a man of extraordinary virtues. He
was a man of ordinary virtues possessed in extraordinary
abundance. Kindness. Generosity. Charity. Honesty. Decency.
It's ironic. Jerry was a soldier who knew war intimately.
But if the world did a better job of practicing those virtues
that Jerry lived by, there would be no need for soldiers
because there would be no war.
His brothers, James and Charles, will always remember him
as an alter boy at Christ Episcopal in Greenville. Countless
times they watched their baby brother Jerry carrying the tall
silver cross down the center aisle. Jerry was--to the core--a
Christian man. If he had one role model from the Gospels, it
surely must have been the Good Samaritan. When it came to
helping people and animals in need, Jerry knew no boundaries.
He would always stop and help.
In the Gospels, Christ admonishes his followers to give
away their possessions, including the shirts on their backs.
On so many occasions, Jerry followed that command almost
literally. He was constantly giving his time and money to
other people. He was quick to forgive debts.
This same generosity applied to the dogs, cats, and cattle
that had the good fortune to have him as their master. For
several decades, now, Jerry has spent more money on hay and
upkeep for his cows than he ever made by selling them at
market. Truth is, Jerry never owned the cows--the cows owned
him. And that was just fine with him.
The result of this lifetime of generosity and giving is
that Jerry did not die a rich man. Money was not what drove
him. Jerry understood that we make a living by what we make,
but we make a life by what we give. He was forever giving:
himself, his labor, his money. As a result he takes to the
grave the only wealth that really matters: the wealth of a
life well lived . . . the wealth of our respect and
admiration and love.
Of course, for Jerry, his greatest wealth was his family,
especially Tweetie, his beloved wife and partner of nearly a
half century. Yes, Jerry had a powerful love for his
daughters Laura and Marguerite. And yes, he loved his
grandchildren. But truth be told, in his last years, he had a
very, very special place in his heart for the youngest: his
greatgrandson Daniel.
And as Danny grows up to be a teenager and then a man, he
will have the enormous privilege to learn more about Trigger,
the great-grandfather he loves so much. Daniel will do well
to live by his great-grandfather's example.
There is an old expression: Sometimes life is not as simple
as it seems--it is even simpler. And so it is with people.
Sometimes their lives can be captured best in the fewest,
simplest words. To capture the essence of Jerry's life, I
once again go back to his great-grandfather, Jeremiah.
Jeremiah is buried at Ebeneezer Baptist church not far from
the Greenville farm. And on the gravestone, his epitaph is
exactly eight words long. It says: ``Confederate Soldier,
Christian Citizen, Faithful to Every Trust.''
With one necessary amendment, those same words can now sum
up Jerry Cleveland Whitmire's life: American soldier,
Christian citizen, faithful to every trust.
We will remember him with love.
May he rest in peace.
____________________