[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 8, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH PETERSEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 8, 2007

  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life 
and accomplishments of a great American and one of my constituents, the 
late Joseph Petersen of the Bronx, New York. I wish to recognize Mr. 
Petersen for the lifetime he spent in the service of his country as a 
Tuskegee Airman and I thank his loved ones for the sacrifices they made 
as well on behalf of this nation.
  Mr. Petersen passed in December 2006 at the age of 97. Though he died 
too soon to see his unit awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the 
highest decoration of bravery that Congress can bestow, his life and 
spirit exemplify the heroism upon which the award was founded. Mr. 
Petersen and his unit fought gallantly and throughout four years of war 
they lost almost none of the bombers charged under their protection. 
Mr. Petersen was a soldier in combat in the truest form, striving 
against both enemy planes and domestic racism, and the courageous 
example he set will remain an everlasting inspiration to us all.
  Madam Speaker, I join with my colleagues in saluting and honoring the 
memory of Joseph Petersen and in mourning his passing.

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