[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COLONEL KENNETH J. SWEET HONORED AS LANCE P. SIJAN AWARD RECIPIENT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 8, 2002

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 16th 2002, the Greater 
Milwaukee Aerie 4214 Fraternal Order of Eagles will award Colonel 
Kenneth J. Sweet (Retired) the Lance P. Sijan Award.
  Lance P. Sijan was born and raised in the Milwaukee community of Bay 
View. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1965, he went to 
serve in DeNang, Vietnam where he flew sixty-six combat missions. On 
his last mission his plane was shot down over enemy territory and, 
although he evaded the enemy for 6 weeks, rescue efforts failed and he 
died as a prisoner of war.
  Lance was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor along with the 
Distinguished Flying Cross, two Purple Hearts, two Air Medals and a 
Certificate of Honorable Service. His courageous service is recognized 
throughout the country with scholarships and memorials.
  Throughout a career that spans over 40 years, Colonel Kenneth J. 
Sweet (Retired) has served his country faithfully and in the same 
courageous manner as Lance P. Sijan.
  Colonel Sweet's first assignment with the Army Air Corps was at 
Wheeler Field, Hawaii where he was on guard duty on December 7, 1941 
when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was among the first to fire 
a rifle in defense of his country at the start of WWII. After the war 
ended he became one of the founders of the 128th Air Refueling Wing 
when the unit gained Federal recognition in 1947.
  During the Korean War, Colonel Sweet was active for 21 months, and 
earned his commission on September 29th, 1961. Retiring in 1982 with 40 
years and 8 months of service to his country, Colonel Sweet remains 
active in the community, advocating for military retiree's in Wisconsin 
and founding the Wisconsin National Retiree Council in 1983, and has 
served as its director for 16 years.
  So it is with great pride that I thank Colonel Kenneth Sweet for his 
years of dedicated military service, and congratulate him on receiving 
the 2002 Lance P. Sijan Award.

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