[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10260-S10261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                  HONORING MONICA AND BERNARD BENNING

 Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, today I rise in honor of Monica 
Conter Benning and Bernard Floyd Benning, Barney, on the celebration of 
their 61st wedding anniversary on August 20, 2003. Monica and Barney 
are the only surviving couple of the Pearl Harbor attack who both were 
in the immediate Pearl Harbor area at the time of the bombing. As the 
courtship between these two officers evolved in the setting of World 
War II, their experiences during the attack on America, December 7, 
1941, are an important part of American history.
  Barney, a college ROTC 2nd Lt. from Niles, MI, was ordered to active 
duty to Hawaii in May 1941. Barney joined an anti-aircraft battery in 
Fort Kamehameha at the entrance of the Pearl Harbor channel.
  Army nurse 2nd Lt. Monica Conter of Apalachicola, FL served at Walter 
Reed General Hospital in 1940-1941, and was the official model for the 
Army Nurse Corps Recruiting Program. Monica was later assigned to the 
new Hickam Field Hospital, adjacent to Pearl Harbor and separate by a 
lone chain link fence. Monica is the only nurse still living today who 
was on duty at Hickam Field Hospital at the time of the attack. During 
the attack on December 7th, a bomb fell on the hospital lawn about 60 
feet from the building, leaving a large crater. A banyon tree sapling 
was planted in the crater several days after the attack. Today, beside 
the huge tree is a granite monument and plaque, honoring Monica's 
service as an Army nurse on duty that fateful day.
  Monica and Barney Benning first met on a prearranged ``blind date'' 
in September 1941; the beginning of a lifetime together. Their 
courtship continued with regularity until that ``Day of Infamy,'' 
December 7, 1941--the first terrorist attack on America. The following 
Wednesday, when Barney appeared at Hickam Hospital in a dirty, wrinkled 
uniform, it was quite an emotional moment when they found each other 
alive.
  ``Off Duty'' time was infrequent and often they were miles apart and 
usually on some kind of alert status until the American victory at the 
Battle of Midway in May.
  They wed on August 20, 1942, in the temporarily camouflaged Hickam 
Field Chapel; the original chapel was destroyed on December 7.

[[Page S10261]]

  On August 20, 2003, they will celebrate their 61st wedding 
anniversary. I congratulate and praise this couple, members of our 
Greatest Generation, for serving America to protect our precious 
democracy. I applaud your bravery and dedication to preserving freedom 
for all Americans.
  Monica and Barney currently reside in Fort Myers, FL. They have two 
sons, Phil Benning and Gregory Benning and a daughter, Veronica 
Benning, as well as two grandchildren, Melanie and Lauren 
Benning.

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