[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E690-E691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO HARVEY L. STOCKWELL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD W. POMBO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 19, 2005

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the House 
of Representatives the life accomplishments of a dedicated man. A man 
who has made a difference in so many lives that he should be recognized 
here today.
  Harvey L. Stockwell, 87, of Garden Grove, California, was a retired 
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with combat service in World War II, Korea 
and Vietnam. He died Feb. 28, 2005, of pulmonary complications at St. 
Joseph's Hospital in Orange, California.
  Brother to Warren Stockwell, Harvey Lee ``Bud'' Stockwell was born in 
Irving Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, on June 10, 1917, to Archie 
Lee and Anna Helen Stockwell.
  He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1940 with a 
bachelor's degree in Geology and married Mary Lenore Lamb on August 21, 
1943.
  When our Nation was called into a second world war, Colonel Stockwell 
answered the call of duty. He started military life as an enlisted 
soldier in the US Army Corps of Engineers and quickly advanced to the 
rank of Corporal. His leadership ability earned him selection to 
Officer Candidate School where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant 
in the Army Engineers and was sent overseas to fight, where he 
continued to lead.
  Col. Stockwell was not a tall man in physical stature. But it was the 
quality of his character that defined the essence of his size. In that 
manner, he was a giant. A line of poetry from Emily Dickinson defines 
his character well: ``We never know how high we are until called upon 
to rise, and if our plan is true to form, our statures touch the 
skies.''
  During the 40th commemoration of the landing at Normandy in 1984, 
President Ronald Reagan described the character of the men who fought 
to preserve our freedom. In his address from France, President Reagan 
said, ``These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are 
the heroes who helped win the war.'' Col. Stockwell was a champion and 
a hero. He helped make it possible for our Nation's flag to continue 
flying in all of its glory, long may she wave.
  After World War II, he left military service for the private sector 
in Chicago, Illinois where he then answered our Nation's call again by 
reentering the service and fighting in the Korean War. This time, he 
stayed in uniform and was one of our Nation's first military advisors 
to serve in Vietnam.
  Col. Stockwell was an honorable man who served our Nation faithfully 
in an honorable profession. He retired from the Army in 1966 at the 
rank of Lieutenant Colonel after 25 years of active military service, 
and traded one form of honorable service for another when he headed up 
the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps in Long Beach, California. 
There, for over 15 years, he instilled in thousands of students the 
values that have made our Nation great, values such as selfless 
service, loyalty and honor. He influenced generations of young people 
who, without his mentoring, may not have gone to college and on to 
successful careers in military service and professional civilian life. 
They never would have known how high they could reach until he called 
upon them to rise, and their statures touched the skies.
  One of the high schools where he taught in Long Beach--Polytechnic 
High School--established an annual leadership award in his name to the 
most-deserving member of Junior ROTC there who exemplifies good 
leadership, military bearing and the ability to teach subordinates 
basic military knowledge. The recipient receives a gold medal whose 
name is inscribed on a perpetual plaque displayed in the unit; May 2005 
will be the 21st award of the honor.
  Col. Stockwell also gave his guidance and approval for a family 
scholarship to be established in Phoenix, Arizona. The name of the 
scholarship is the Stockwell Family Leadership Award and will be 
awarded to the most deserving graduate of Arizona Project Challenge, 
which graduates two classes each year. The Arizona National Guard runs 
Project Challenge as an alternative to high school for at-risk youth 
between the ages of 16 and 18. Most of the program's graduates receive 
their GED certificates and go on to institutions of higher learning, 
and this scholarship will help some deserving young people achieve 
their goals. Thanks to him, the statures of even more young people will 
reach to touch the skies. The first award of the scholarship will be 
made in June 2005 in his memory, and the memories of his son Robert and 
his brother Warren. They, too, served our Nation faithfully in uniform 
during times of war and peace. Their legacy of service lives.
  Col. Stockwell's health began to decline about 15 years ago. It 
seemed the worse his health became, the taller he stood in stature. 
Poor leg circulation and breathing difficulties

[[Page E691]]

forced him to limit his walks from the front door to his flagpole in 
the front yard to continue raising the Stars and Stripes at 8 a.m., and 
then lower the flag at 5 p.m., a daily vigil he maintained faithfully 
year after year until a few weeks ago when he no longer had the 
strength. At that point, he retired the flag. His family has recently 
installed a lighting system at his home, where his wife continues to 
live, so Colonel Stockwell's flag may continue to fly.
  Mr. Speaker, Colonel Stockwell is being laid to rest today at 
Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. I ask that these 
comments be submitted into the Congressional Record so that they, like 
the flag that continues to fly in front of Colonel Stockwell's yard, 
may remain a permanent tribute to this great man.

                          ____________________