[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 2, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING EDWARD L. WAYTULA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 1, 2004

  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a heroic veteran 
of World War II, Mr. Edward L. Waytula, who at age 82 still devotes his 
time and continues to serve our country, most recently by participating 
in the Chicago World War II Veterans Anthology.
  Technical Sergeant Edward L. Waytula served in the U.S. Army's Signal 
Corps with exceptional ingenuity, bravery and resolve. His diligence in 
the field helped keep supply lines open in the European theatre and 
throughout France.
  Supplies were delivered to the general depot where Sergeant Waytula 
was stationed but without any precision or method of organization that 
could be easily or quickly extracted, as was so often needed to save 
American and Allied lives in the haste of war.
  Among the many supplies that arrived at the depot were urgently 
needed components of mobile communications equipment. Under fire and 
tremendous pressure to meet time sensitive demands, Sergeant Waytula 
quickly sifted through the innumerable supplies.
  Relying on sound instincts and a little good luck, he swiftly 
assembled this equipment vital to gathering and analysis of strategic 
intelligence under chain of command of General George S. Patton.
  This is one story that Sergeant Waytula has shared with the Chicago 
World War II Veterans Anthology and the United States Library of 
Congress. Like so many members of ``the greatest generation,'' Sergeant 
Waytula has rarely spoken of his memories of the war. I am therefore 
particularly grateful that he agreed to recount those experiences and 
for his efforts to encourage his fellow veterans to also share their 
recollections for the World War II Veterans Anthology.
  As Memorial Day approaches, Mr. Speaker, and as we prepare to 
dedicate the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, I am 
privileged to pay tribute to retired Technical Sergeant Edward L. 
Waytula of the United States Army, one of our Nation's surviving World 
War II heroes and honored veterans. On behalf of a grateful Nation, we 
thank him for his contributions to the Chicago World War II Veterans 
Anthology, and more important, for his service and commitment to our 
Nation and the liberty we enjoy today.

                          ____________________