[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 53 (Thursday, May 2, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING ARKANSAN WWII POW'S AND THEIR RUSSIAN COUNTERPARTS

  (Mr. BOOZMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three World War 
II POW veterans from the State of Arkansas who will be leaving this 
Sunday, May 5, to participate in an historic reunion with Russian World 
War II veterans in Volgograd, Russia.
  In 1945 Silas LeGrow, Thomas Watt Bonds and Charley Stringer were 
liberated by Russian soldiers from POW camps in Manchuria, Germany and 
Romania respectively. Upon release, their Russian allies shared limited 
food rations, clothing and medical supplies to keep them alive. Without 
this generosity, our soldiers would have come much closer to death.
  This week these men will travel to Volgograd to thank their Russian 
colleagues for saving their lives and enabling them to return home to 
their families in Arkansas. They will also celebrate Russia's Victory 
Day in Volgograd, which was known as Stalingrad in the Soviet era. 
World War II's bloodiest battle on Russian soil took place in 
Stalingrad, and so the celebration of Victory Day is of great 
significance to the local residents.
  I would also like to recognize the University of Arkansas Medical 
School for their part in making the trip for these veterans a reality. 
In 1993, UMS formed a partnership with Volgograd Medical Academy, and 
this relationship resulted in the establishment of a Russian family 
medical department, a family medicine residency program and 
tuberculosis program. It is through this partnership that the city of 
Volgograd thoughtfully extended an invitation to the World War II POWs 
from Arkansas to join in the Victory Day festivities.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of this display of international friendship 
and remembrance by representatives from my home State. Thank you for 
allowing me the opportunity to recognize them.

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