[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E94-E95]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING BERNHARD ``BARNEY'' MAYRSOHN ON HIS SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2004

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Purchase, NY, 
resident Barney Mayrsohn for his life of service to our country, from 
the snowy forests of the Battle of the Bulge in WWII to the snowy 
streets of Moscow today.
  In 1943, Barney Mayrsohn was hard at work in college, but with the 
world at war, he would enter the U.S. Army, joining his father and two 
brothers, who were also serving. In September of 1944, he was shipped 
aboard the Queen Mary, with 1,500 of his fellow soldiers, to the 
European Theater. A member of the 106th Infantry Division, Mr. Mayrsohn 
would find himself thrust into the largest land battle of WWII in which 
the United States participated: the German offensive in the Ardennes in 
the winter of 1944-1945 that would come to be known as the Battle of 
the Bulge.
  During the fighting, Mr. Mayrsohn would prove a brave and resilient 
soldier, getting wounded twice and earning two Purple Hearts, a Bronze 
Star, and a Combat Infantry Badge. As the battle continued 
unremittingly, the 106th would lose half of the division, and Barney 
would be taken captive in December 1944.
  He was taken by train, along with other Allied prisoners-of-war, to 
the Stalag 4B prison camp. Along the way, he narrowly escaped

[[Page E95]]

death yet again, as Allied aircraft, while bombing the German railroad 
tracks, mistakenly dropped a bomb on the train car in front of his.
  Mr. Mayrsohn's transition into life as a prisoner was eased thanks to 
the generosity of British prisoners, who provided him with some Red 
Cross food packages and extra clothing that they had stored away. Over 
time, as the Red Army continued its inexorable advance westward, the 
Red Cross packages ran out and no more were on the way. Prisoners began 
to starve. Mr. Mayrsohn lost more than forty pounds.
  As the sounds of artillery became louder over the spring, it was 
clear that the Red Army was near. In April of 1945, the Russians 
arrived at the gates of Stalag 4B. After more than five months in enemy 
captivity, Mr. Mayrsohn was free.
  The captain of the liberating Russian unit gathered together Mr. 
Mayrsohn and four of his fellow American soldiers with three Russian 
female military personnel for a picture. This photo would return with 
Mr. Mayrsohn to America. And there it lay, untouched for 57 years, in a 
bottom drawer.
  After the war, Mr. Mayrsohn would return to college, have a family, 
and start a successful international trading business. In 2003, he 
decided to use a previously planned trip to Scandinavia as the perfect 
opportunity to visit Russia and attempt to reunite with the three women 
in the photo and the Russian officer who snapped it. Mr. Mayrsohn 
worked with the Russian Cultural Center in Washington, DC, and the 
Office of Veterans Affairs in Moscow to discover the identity of the 
soldiers. While it proved impossible to find those particular people, 
the Office of Veterans Affairs was able to find two female and two male 
veterans of the battles that liberated the camp.
  In August of 2003, accompanied by two soldiers from the American 
Embassy in Moscow, Mr. Mayrsohn took the four liberators out to a 
banquet dinner at a prestigious restaurant in Red Square. At the event, 
gifts were exchanged, as were stories recalling an age of unprecedented 
cooperation between the two world powers.
  He then met with the officer in charge of Russian Veteran Affairs, 
who not only agreed to help find the soldiers in the picture; he also 
presented Mr. Mayrsohn with the Russian Blue Star--similar to our 
Combat Infantry Badge.
  These meetings were covered in the Russian media. The ``Red Star,'' 
the Russian Defense Ministry's official newspaper, even printed an 
article on Mr. Mayrsohn's story. While the search goes on for more of 
his liberators, Mr. Mayrsohn, through his efforts, has helped to create 
goodwill between our two countries. With the Cold War over, and each 
country attempting to put aside past differences to look ahead towards 
a common future, efforts by people such as Mr. Mayrsohn are extremely 
important. Therefore, even if it is ultimately not possible to find the 
women in his photo, I would say that his mission was a great success.

                          ____________________