[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 120 (Thursday, September 4, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           POW BACK PAY BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 3, 2003

  Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, in times of war our veterans and 
their families make sacrifices. The prisoners of war during WWII made 
great sacrifices, and were not always shown the gratitude they deserve. 
These American heroes, lost through the passage of time, have been 
denied the pay that their rank entitled them to for more than 50 years. 
It is time to stamp ``paid in full'' on this forgotten debt.
  I would especially like to honor Dr. David Kliewer, a veteran from 
Corvallis, OR, who brought this issue to my attention. Dr. Kliewer is a 
remarkable man who voluntarily joined the Marines in 1939 as a Marine 
Corps Aviator. He was a POW in the South Pacific, and was promoted to 
the rank of Major while held in a Japanese POW camp. While imprisoned, 
he applied and was accepted to Harvard Medical School.
  This bill would allow certain forgotten Navy and Marine Corps 
veterans who were POWs during World War II to collect back pay related 
to their promotions. These veterans were selected for advancement 
during their internment, but were unable to receive their promotion or 
the increase in pay that they were due. This bill corrects this 
oversight, and ensures that these brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen 
receive the full amount of back pay they deserve, in dollars adjusted 
for inflation.
  This bill is of considerable importance not just to the surviving 
veterans, but to the widows who survived their husbands as well. These 
women, many of whom may not be in a position to meet their needs, have 
earned and deserve the benefit of this legislation. We must make up 
this inequity and keep our promise to our Nation's veterans.
  I am proud to have introduced this bill in the House of 
Representatives, and urge my colleagues to join me in correcting this 
injustice in full. To do otherwise not only devalues the service of 
these veterans of so long ago, but shows a callous disregard for the 
men and women of our Armed Forces currently in harm's way in Iraq. I 
hope that both houses can quickly pass this legislation, and look 
forward to watching President Bush sign this bill.

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