[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1640-E1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JOHN HARRISON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2010

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize John Harrison, a World 
War II Army veteran from Boone County, Iowa, and to express my 
appreciation for his dedication and commitment to his country.
  The Boone News Republican is currently running a series of articles 
that honors one Boone County veteran every Tuesday from Memorial Day to 
Veterans Day. John Harrison was recognized on Tuesday, July 20. Below 
is the article in its entirety:

                  Boone County Veterans: John Harrison

                        (By Alexander Hutchins)

       John Harrison, 84, a former Army Staff Sergeant, was raised 
     on a farm south of Perry in the midst of the depression.
       ``Back in those days we were just coming out of the 
     depression, and we didn't have anything, but we had plenty to 
     eat,'' said Harrison.
       He worked throughout his youth and contributed to his 
     family's income in tough times. This spirit of hard work and 
     the necessity of duty would shape his life as much as his 
     time in the Army during World War II.
       Harrison spent much of his youth working on the family farm 
     and for other farmers in the area.
       ``I vividly remember the summer of 1936, when we'd throw a 
     mattress out under the shade tree in the yard and just hope 
     and pray for a little breeze,'' Harrison said.
       He trained in carpentry in high school, a skill that he 
     would employ in a brief career after the war. He married his 
     first wife, Betty, before joining the service, though she has 
     since passed away.
       Harrison was inducted into the Army in September of 1944, 
     took his basic training at Fort Hood, Texas, and went 
     overseas in January of 1945.
       ``I was on the island of Saipan until they got a convoy 
     together, then we went to Okinawa,'' Harrison said.
       When deploying to the island, the sister ship of Harrison's 
     vessel was hit by a Kamikaze pilot. The soldier above 
     Harrison on the rope dropped his rifle, and Harrison would 
     sport the dent in his helmet for the rest of his time in the 
     service.
       He served with the 34th Combat Engineers, primarily 
     building Bailey Bridges and other infrastructure, but did 
     fire and was fired upon by Japanese forces.
       ``I do remember when we were moving forward we would see 
     trucks going by carrying dead soldiers,'' Harrison said. 
     ``[They] had new combat boots on that didn't even have

[[Page E1641]]

     mud on them yet. We lost a lot of men there.''
       ``Then as soon as the war ended in Okinawa, they loaded us 
     on LST's and they took us to Korea. We went in on the west 
     side at a place called Inchon. They loaded us on a narrow-
     gage railway train, and every little hill that we'd go up, 
     we'd have to get out and help push the train,'' Harrison 
     said.
       His unit, now the 42nd Engineering Construction Battalion, 
     was deployed near Seoul, Korea, in late August, 1945, to help 
     build the Temple Airfield.
       ``I remember the first time I went up the streets of Seoul, 
     you could go across the Han river and look straight ahead to 
     the capitol and it looked like a beautiful city, and from the 
     front side of the street it did, but you'd go around the back 
     to the alleys and maybe a cow or a pig would be sticking its 
     head out the window,'' Harrison said.
       He was in Korea until July, 1946. He earned a bronze battle 
     star, three overseas service bars, an Asiatic/Pacific Theater 
     ribbon, a victory medal, an army of occupation medal and a 
     good conduct medal.
       ``When I came home from the service, first I worked [to] 
     help building Quonset huts for the veterans over at Iowa 
     State College,'' Harrison said. ``Then I went to work for 
     Otis lumber yard, doing carpentry work. I did that until 
     1956, and then I went on the fire department.''
       Harrison would spend 28 years with the fire department, and 
     in 1985 he began working at the county courthouse as Director 
     of Veteran's Affairs for 20 years. When working as a 
     carpenter, Harrison helped build 16 new homes in Boone.
       ``Growing up, everyone worked, so I always did work. If I 
     were younger I'd still work today. That was drilled into me 
     when I was a young kid, that if you wanted something out of 
     life you had to work for it and I still feel that way 
     today,'' Harrison said.
       Harrison has undergone knee replacement surgery, but stays 
     active and walks each day. He has a daughter living in Boone, 
     two sons, seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
       Harrison said he has no significant regrets from his time 
     in the Army, and he appreciates accoutrements for veterans 
     such as VA hospitals.
       ``Back in those days, you knew when it came your time to go 
     into the service and you were old enough, you went. You just 
     didn't make a fuss about it,'' he said.
       Harrison said he feels remorse for soldiers from the 
     current conflict, facing a war that is so different from the 
     one he participated in.
       ``I wish all the young men and women in the service the 
     best,'' Harrison said.
       People today are fairly savvy to modern wars, he said, and 
     modern soldiers thankfully have the option to remain in 
     contact with family and friends without relying on censored 
     mail, as was the case in World War II.
        Harrison will board an Honor Flight next month on August 
     19, and will visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, 
     D.C.

  I commend John Harrison for his many years of loyalty and service to 
our great nation. It is an immense honor to represent him in the United 
States Congress, and I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________