[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MEMORIAL DEDICATION IN HONOR OF OWEN F.P. HAMMERBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 2005

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an All-
American hero. On Memorial Day, May 30 2005, Medal of Honor Veteran 
Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg will have a large granite monument 
dedicated in his honor and memory by the Menominee Mid County VFW Post 
5966. This monument dedication is fitting in honoring the epitome of a 
hero on this Memorial Day.
  Born to Elizabeth (Leaveck) and Jonas Hammerberg, a Swedish 
immigrant, on a farm 3 miles east of Dagget, Michigan, Owen Hammerberg 
was instilled with the values that would later make him an American 
hero. After moving to several small towns in Michigan's Upper 
Peninsula, the Hammerbergs settled in Stephenson long enough for Owen 
Hammerberg to attend grade school and a portion of high school. The 
family then went on to Flint, Michigan, where Owen Hammerberg dropped 
out of school and hitch hiked out west to work on a ranch before 
joining the Navy.
  At age 21, Hammerberg enlisted in the Navy on July 16, 1941. After 
training at the Great Lakes Training Center near Chicago, he was 
assigned to the USS Idaho and USS Advent, a minesweeper, for several 
years. While aboard the Advent, he showed a first glimpse of true 
bravery when a cable tangled in a mine risked an explosion and the 
lives of the men on board. Without hesitation, Hammerberg dove into the 
water, freeing the cable and saving the lives of his comrades. He was 
recommended for a Bronze Star, but unfortunately never received one.
  Hammerberg's instincts combined with his swimming ability made him 
the perfect member of the Deep Sea Diving School where upon graduation 
he was assigned to the Commander Service Force, U.S. South Pacific 
Fleet, Salvage Unit in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On February 17, 1945, 
Boatwain's Mate Second Class, Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg showed 
his incredible talent, instinct and bravery that would later cause 
roads, ships and parks to be named in his honor.
  In May 1944, the Navy was forced to blow up and sink 5 ship-tanks 
that had been set ablaze risking the explosion of nearby battle air-
ships. Then the following February, they called in five diving teams to 
raise the hulks and clear the channel. Hammerberg was assigned to one 
of the teams. Each team would be allowed to go ``on leave'' when their 
ship was raised. An easy task for the skilled Hammerberg and his team, 
they completed their assignment and went on leave.
  Another team, not bearing nearly the same fortune, became trapped in 
the steel and cables of a downed ship. In the attempt to reach them, 
the waters became muddied and not even a special diving team from New 
York would risk the rescue mission. After the call went out for 
volunteer divers, 23-year-old Hammerberg agreed and instinctively 
suited up his gear and set out through the black muddy waters to save 
the stranded divers.
  It took Hammerberg five hours to free the first diver. George Fuller, 
who had been pinned by a steel plate, shook Hammerberg's hand 
underwater before heading to the surface for safety. In the attempt to 
save the second diver, Earl Brown, a large steel plate slid through the 
mud toward them. Hammerberg took the brunt of the plate on himself to 
save the life of the other diver. As a result, Hammerberg was crushed 
to death. Seventy-three hours after Hammerberg volunteered for the 
assignment, a Filipino father and son used their unsophisticated 
methods to rescue the last trapped diver, Earl Brown. The father-son 
team recovered Hammerberg's body.

  That February, Hammerberg was awarded the last non-combat 
Congressional Medal of Honor in Michigan at the Grosse Ile Naval 
Station where his mother and father received duplicate medals. He also 
received the American Defense Service Medal Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-
Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the World War 
II Victory Medal. These medals and his uniform are on display at 
Michigan's Own Inc., Military and Space Museum in Frankenmuth, 
Michigan.
  On August 19, 1954, the U.S. Navy launched a destroyer escort, the 
USS Hammerberg, in the name and honor of Owen Hammerberg with his 
family present. His mother christened the new ship. Approximately the 
same time, Hammerberg Road was dedicated in Flint, Michigan and a park 
in Detroit was named in his honor.
  Mr. Speaker, I'd like to remind the House of Representatives that on 
February 17, 1945, Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg did not have to put 
on his diving suit that last time and brave the dark waters to save 
these men. Yet without hesitation, this young man from Dagget, Michigan 
showed the world what it means to be an American serviceman--
unselfishly courageous. I ask the House of Representatives to join me 
in honoring the life and memory of Owen Hammerberg, an All-American 
hero on this most appropriate of holidays, Memorial Day.

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