[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S4252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MR. PEYTON HEADY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a fellow 
Kentuckian who has done the important work of keeping a piece of the 
Commonwealth's history alive by chronicling the events of the county he 
is proud to call home, Union County.
  Mr. Peyton Heady has written and published 25 books that cover some 
aspect of the county's history. He has a particular interest in how 
people from Union County were involved in the Civil War. One such story 
involves Tom Henry, a Union County native who managed to stop the 
notorious outlaws, Frank and Jesse James from robbing a bank in 
Morganfield. Mr. Henry convinced the James brothers that he had friends 
who had money in the bank and they wouldn't want to lose it. This story 
could have been lost in the annals of history, but it won't be because 
of Peyton Heady's thorough research and documentation.
  Another piece of Union County history that Mr. Heady has taken an 
interest in is that of Camp Breckinridge. As a former clerk in the 
civil engineering division at the camp during World War II, Mr. Heady 
has first-hand experiences to share and draw from. Later this week he 
will be honored by the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center, located on 
Camp Breckinridge property, for keeping a record of the history of Camp 
Breckinridge. The Center will name one of the camp administration 
buildings the Peyton Heady Building.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in giving Mr. Heady the thanks of a 
grateful Commonwealth and a grateful Nation. Thanks to his dedication, 
the history of Kentucky shall be preserved. I ask unanimous consent to 
have printed in the Record an article from The Henderson Gleaner 
``Making History: Chronicler of Union County Events Honored for Keeping 
Memories Alive,'' about Mr. Heady's contributions to his community.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Henderson Gleaner, Mar. 13, 2005]

 Making History: Chronicler of Union County Events Honored for Keeping 
                             Memories Alive

                           (By Judy Jenkins)

       Tom Henry was one of those bigger than life characters who 
     would, if he were alive today, be gracing the cover of 
     ``People'' magazine and artfully answering questions lobbed 
     at him by Larry King.
       Tom was a handsome Union County native who served as a 
     captain in the Confederate army and, legend has it, managed 
     to earn the respect of those infamous outlaws Frank and Jesse 
     James. The James brothers spent a considerable amount of time 
     in Morganfield during the Civil War, and at one point Frank--
     the story goes--was planning to rob a bank there.
       Our hero Tom learned of those plans and convinced Frank to 
     forego the robbery by telling him that he had some good 
     friends who had money in that bank and he'd sure hate for 
     them to lose it.
       On another, darker occasion, a Yankee colonel was captured 
     and tied to a tree. Apparently a couple of the captors were 
     planning a short future for the Northerner, but Tom informed 
     them they'd have to walk over his own dead body to harm the 
     colonel.
       In a twist that Hollywood would love, Tom was captured and 
     after the war was taken to Louisville to stand trial for his 
     life. The Yankee colonel, by amazing coincidence, walked into 
     the courtroom, recognized Tom as the captain who saved his 
     life, and got the Union Countian released.
       That's just one of the many accounts in Peyton Heady's 1985 
     ``Union County History in the Civil War.'' The 252-page book 
     makes what could be dry, dusty descriptions of past events 
     come alive for the reader.
       Peyton, who wrote the history because he was concerned that 
     little had been written about Union County's involvement in 
     the Civil War, noted that about 60 percent of the county's 
     population supported the Confederate cause and families were 
     often divided.
       There were, for instance, the Lambert brothers who fought 
     in opposing armies, survived the war and never again spoke to 
     each other--but are buried side by side in a Union County 
     cemetery.
       The book is one of 25 written and published by Peyton over 
     the decades, and they all cover some aspect of Union County 
     history. Some are genealogical volumes and some record the 
     county's cemeteries, including obscure resting places. While 
     surveying those cemeteries, the retired U.S. Postal Service 
     employee found the graves of seven Revolutionary War soldiers 
     with monuments intact.
       Peyton, who was a clerk in the civil engineering division 
     at Camp Breckinridge during World War II, also wrote the 
     history of the sprawling camp that contained 36,000 acres, 
     had housing for 30,000 troops and 10,000 additional 
     personnel, boasted its own utility systems and airstrip, had 
     12 dispensaries and hospitals, nearly seven miles of 
     railroad, a simulated ``Japanese training village,'' four 
     movie theaters and much, much more.
       Four divisions from that Army post fought in the Battle of 
     the Bulge, and the camp contributed a number of major units 
     that played a significant role in breaking down the Nazi 
     fortress.
       It was at the camp that Peyton watched a young African 
     American soldier named Jackie Robinson play baseball, and it 
     was there he supervised 150 German prisoners of war.
       For the price of a box of Cuban cigars, one of those 
     prisoners painted Peyton's portrait. The painting hangs in 
     the Morganfield home of Peyton and Cecilia, his wife of 53 
     years and mother of their two children, James Heady and 
     Rebecca Heady Gough.
       On April 28, Peyton no doubt will feel he's come full 
     circle in his life. On that day, one of the camp 
     administration facilities will be named the Peyton Heady 
     Building. The 11 a.m. dedication ceremony is part of the 40th 
     anniversary celebration of the Earle C. Clements Job Corps 
     Center, which is on the Camp Breckinridge property.
       Peyton, 79, is being saluted largely for his determination 
     to keep the history of Camp Breckinridge from passing into 
     obscurity. He opted to undertake that history when he learned 
     that government archives contained a one- page description of 
     the giant complex that was last used as a military 
     installation in 1963.
       He is touched by the upcoming honor, but he'll have you 
     know that the thousands of hours of patient research and 
     writing his books weren't for praise or glory. ``I just think 
     if you're going to live in a town and raise your children in 
     a town you should do something to make it better,'' he says.
       Things he's done include working with Morganfield's Little 
     League program for more than two decades.
       Peyton is on a walker now and doesn't often leave his home, 
     but he isn't complaining. ``I'm a happy man,'' he says. ``I'm 
     happy with my marriage (which naysayers said would never work 
     because Cecilia's Catholic and he's Methodist), happy with my 
     family and happy with my life.''
       His histories have sold well and seven or eight have been 
     reprinted, but Peyton hasn't gotten rich from the sales.
       ``I didn't write them for profit,'' he says. ``I wrote them 
     for history.''

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