[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THOMAS S. CONLEY, SR. OF DADE CITY, FLORIDA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GINNY BROWN-WAITE

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 6, 2008

  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
honor an American soldier who was wounded in service to our Nation 
during the conflict in Vietnam. Mr. Thomas S. Conley, Sr. is a Marine 
who served with honor and distinction on the battlefield. It is truly 
an honor to present this brave patriot with his long overdue Purple 
Heart Medal.
  Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Mr. Conley's family moved to 
Pittsburgh when he was in ninth grade. Enlisting in the Marine Corps at 
the age of eighteen, Mr. Conley was one of about seventy-eight 
enlistees dubbed the ``Pittsburgh Pirate Platoon'' when, all gathered 
around home plate for the ceremony, they were sworn into the Marines in 
the 7th inning of a baseball game at Forbes Field.
  After completing his basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, 
Mr. Conley went on to attend radio operator school in California and 
then served as the 2531 Field Radio Operator with the 9th Marines in 
Vietnam. Near the end of his tour of duty, his unit was near the Rock 
Pile in the Northern Eye Core of Vietnam when a mortar round landed 
between Mr. Conley and another soldier. The other man was thrown 
twenty-three feet and killed, while Mr. Conley ended up with shrapnel 
throughout his body.
  A third generation soldier whose grandfather served in World War I 
and his father in World War II, Mr. Conley's wounds sadly forced him to 
leave the military. He had planned to make a career in the Marines, but 
after the blast injured him in Vietnam he returned to Bethesda Naval 
Hospital where he remained for thirteen months prior to being 
discharged. Continuing the tradition of military service, Mr. Conley's 
three sons have all served in the Marine Corps, and one has had four 
tours of duty in Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, it is soldiers like Thomas S. Conley, Sr. who joined 
the military to protect the freedoms that all Americans hold dear. 
While brave men like Mr. Conley were wounded fighting for freedom and 
liberty, his family, friends and loved ones know that this Congress 
will always remember his bravery and commitment in battle.

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