[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E776-E777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNITION OF MR. ANDREW JACKSON HIGGINS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM OSBORNE

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments 
of Mr. Andrew Jackson Higgins whom President Eisenhower once said is 
``The man who won the war for us'', referring to his development and 
production of Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats that landed on the shores of 
many beaches during World War II.
  Andrew Jackson Higgins was born on August 28, 1886, in Columbus, 
Nebraska, to John Gonigle and Anna Long (O'Conner) Higgins. His 
innovative mind showed itself at an early age, and by 12 years old, he 
was motivated to build his first craft in the basement of his home. The 
shallow water boats that floated along the Loup and Platte Rivers 
during his childhood inspired him.
  His passion for boats did not stop in his childhood; Mr. Higgins 
organized Higgins Industries, Inc. in 1930, to build boats for his 
lumber business. He began designing boats because of navigation 
problems he encountered involving the moving of logs in shallow 
waterways. The structure of these shallow boats eventually led to the 
development of the PT boats and their capability to travel in shallow 
water.
  He also created PT boats, which were also known as Higgins Boats. 
Higgins Boats, constructed of wood and steel, transported fully-armed 
troops, light tanks, field artillery, and other mechanized equipment 
essential to Allied versatile operations including the decisive D-Day 
attack at Normandy, France. He continued to design boats and eventually 
engineered over 20,000, including rocket-firing landing craft support 
boats, high-speed boats and various types of military landing craft.
  Following the D-Day attack, thousands of lesser-known assaults 
employed Higgins Boats, which included landing on the beaches of 
Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, Okinawa, Leyte, and Guam. Mr. Higgins 
not only specialized in landing craft such as PT boats, but also 
constructed freight supply ships and airborne lifeboats that could be 
dropped from B-17 Bombers.
  The production of Higgins Boats enabled Mr. Higgins to establish four 
major assembly plants in New Orleans for mass construction of landing 
craft and other vessels vital to the Allied forces' conduct of World 
War II. He also trained over 30,000 Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard 
personnel on the safe operation of landing craft at the Higgins' Boat 
Operators School.
  Mr. Higgins had another great accomplishment during World War II that 
established a progressive social policy at Higgins Industries Inc. He 
employed a fully integrated assembly workforce of black and white men 
and women. His policy was equal pay for equal work, decades before 
integration and racial and gender equality became the law of our land.
  In 1964, the former President Dwight D. Eisenhower said of Andrew 
Jackson Higgins, ``He is the man who won the war for us. If Mr. Higgins 
had not developed and produced those landing craft, we never could have 
gone in over an open beach. We would have had to change the entire 
strategy of the war.''

[[Page E777]]

  Mr. Higgins enriched the lives of everyone fortunate enough to have 
known him. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House of Representatives, we 
extend our deepest appreciation to Mr. Higgins' family and friends. 
Please join me in honoring Mr. Andrew Jackson Higgins, an exceptional 
individual who dedicated his life to the service of our country.

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