[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 92 (Monday, July 11, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO THE ALAMO SCOUTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 11, 2005

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to recognize the 
fine accomplishments and storied history of the Alamo Scouts. The Alamo 
Scouts were the forerunners of the Army Special Forces ``Green 
Berets.'' Without their determined efforts, the United States Army's 
path to victory in the Pacific would have been much harder.
  I mention the Alamo Scouts today not only because they were the 
soldiers who had the skill and tenacity to accomplish the most top 
secret missions of World War II, but because as the years go their 
numbers are dwindling. I feel that it is important that all here today 
recognize the accomplishments of The Alamo Scouts and that we all pay 
tribute to them before they are lost to us forever.
  The Alamo Scouts' role in history has remained obscure for many 
years, though their role in defeating the Japanese was crucial. Their 
training was rigorous and their missions were top secret. Of the 
thousands of soldiers who the military selected, only 138 men completed 
their training and became Alamo Scouts. Men like Robert L. Shirkey, 
Zeke McConnell, and Conrad Vineyard completed their training and went 
on to participate in missions that saved the war. It was an Alamo 
Scout, Galen C. Kittleston, who discovered the Cabanatuan prison camp 
that led to the release of hundreds of prisoners of war who would have 
surely died otherwise. It was an Alamo Scout, Robert Shirkey, who 
discovered that General Tomoyuki Yamashita, The Tiger of Malaya, had 
returned to Northern Luzon. This gave General MacArthur the information 
he needed to recapture the Phillippines.
  Most remarkable, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that despite the Alamo 
Scouts' daring and dangerous missions and despite the weeks and months 
spent behind enemy lines, not one Alamo Scout was ever killed in 
action. Even though they had the ability to defy death on the field of 
combat, many Alamo Scouts are no longer with us. Of the 138 original 
Alamo Scouts, only about 20 are still with us today.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that you, along with the other members of 
Congress, will join me in honoring the Alamo Scouts and recognizing 
their invaluable contribution to America's success in World War II.

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