[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 172 (Thursday, November 19, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S11591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING LEWIS MILLETT

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am honored to remember Lewis 
Millett--a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, a retired 
Army colonel and a proud American who passed away on November 14, 2009.
  Colonel Millett retired from the U.S. Army after a 31-year career 
that spanned three wars. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading 
a bayonet charge up a heavily defended hill during the Korean war. In 
his 31-year career in the Army, that included service in World War II, 
Korea and Vietnam, Colonel Millett received numerous awards, including 
the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, 
three Bronze Stars, four Purple Hearts, and three Air Medals.
  Born December 15, 1920, in Mechanic Falls, ME, Millett grew up in 
Massachusetts, where he joined the State National Guard. In 1940, with 
the war in Europe underway, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. But 
after President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that no Americans would 
fight on foreign soil, he deserted the Army and joined the Canadian 
Army. When he arrived in Europe in 1942, the United States was in the 
war and he was allowed to transfer back to the U.S. Army.
  As a member of the 27th Armored Field Artillery of the 1st Armored 
Division, Colonel Millett participated in the Allied invasion of North 
Africa, where he earned a Silver Star after driving a burning halftrack 
loaded with ammunition away from U.S. troops and jumping out before it 
exploded. After a year in combat, the Army reviewed his military record 
and convicted him of desertion. He was fined $52 and sentenced to 3 
days hard labor. He was not required to do the hard time, and 2 weeks 
later he was made a second lieutenant.
  After World War II, he returned to civilian status and joined the 
Maine National Guard. When the Army called for volunteers in 1949, he 
returned to Active Duty.
  He later served in Korea as a company commander and in Vietnam as a 
military adviser with the intelligence program called Phoenix. Colonel 
Millett retired from the US Army in 1973.
  He is survived by his sons, Lee and Tim, and daughter Elizabeth; a 
brother, Albert; three sisters, Ellen Larabee, Jean Pepin, and Marion 
Finnity; and four grandchildren. I extend my heartfelt condolences to 
them.
  The military community, the State of California, and our Nation have 
lost a proud American and a great warrior.

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