[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 92 (Wednesday, July 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1295-E1296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PAYING TRIBUTE TO FRANCIS S. CURREY FOR HIS HEROIC SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MAURICE D. HINCHEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 6, 2004

  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Francis 
S. Currey for his heroic service during the Second World War. I am very 
pleased to submit this tribute to Sergeant Currey, as the Town of 
Fallsburg in Sullivan County, New York prepares to celebrate ``Francis 
Currey Day,'' designated for July 10, 2004. The day of festivities will 
pay homage to the outstanding and invaluable service that Sergeant 
Currey provided to our nation during World War II, which earned him the 
Medal of Honor. Mr. Currey is the only living native of Sullivan County 
to have received this distinguished award.
   The details of Sergeant Currey's courageous actions are chronicled 
in a citation dated July 27, 1945 and signed by President Harry S. 
Truman. At the time of the events depicted in the citation, Francis 
Currey was nineteen years of age. It reads as follows:
   ``Sergeant Francis S. Currey, U.S. Army, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 
120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division. He was an automatic rifleman 
with the 3rd Platoon defending a strong point near Malmedy, Belgium, on 
21 December 1944, when the enemy launched a powerful attack. 
Overrunning tank destroyers and antitank guns located near the strong 
point, German tanks advanced to the 3rd Platoon's position and, after 
prolonged fighting, forced the withdrawal of this group to a nearby 
factory. Sergeant Currey found a bazooka in the building and crossed 
the street to secure rockets meanwhile enduring intense fire from enemy 
tanks and hostile infantrymen who had

[[Page E1296]]

taken up a position at a house a short distance away. In the face of 
small arms, machine gun, and artillery fire, he, with a companion, 
knocked out a tank with one shot. Moving to another position, he 
observed three Germans in the doorway of an enemy-held house. He killed 
or wounded all three with his automatic rifle. He emerged from cover 
and advanced alone to within 50 yards of the house, intent on wrecking 
it with rockets. Covered by friendly fire, he stood erect, and fired a 
shot which knocked down half of one wall. While in this forward 
position, he observed five Americans who had been pinned down for hours 
by fire from the house and three tanks. Realizing that they could not 
escape until the enemy tank and infantry guns had been silenced, 
Sergeant Currey crossed the street to a vehicle, where he procured an 
armful of antitank grenades. These he launched while under heavy enemy 
fire, driving the tankmen from the vehicles into the house. He then 
climbed onto a half-track in full view of the Germans and fired a 
machine gun at the house. Once again changing his position, he manned 
another machine gun whose crew had been killed; under his covering fire 
the five soldiers were able to retire to safety. Deprived of tanks and 
with heavy infantry casualties, the enemy was forced to withdraw. 
Through his extensive knowledge of weapons and by his heroic and 
repeated braving of murderous enemy fire, Sergeant Currey was greatly 
responsible for inflicting heavy losses in men and material on the 
enemy, for rescuing five comrades, two of whom were wounded, and for 
stemming an attack which threatened to flank his battalion's 
position.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to join the Town of Fallsburg in honoring 
Francis S. Currey, who repeatedly risked his life in order to protect 
his fellow soldiers and to halt the Nazi offensive near Malmedy, 
Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. The enemy offensive that 
Sergeant Currey thwarted may have prolonged the duration of the War in 
Europe and cost the lives of many more American soldiers had it been 
successful. It is with great pleasure that I hereby recognize Sergeant 
Currey's courageous and selfless actions and express my deep gratitude 
and appreciation for his tremendous service to this country.

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