[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 151 (Thursday, November 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1961-E1962]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DEAN BRILEY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 2010

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Dean Briley, a World 
War II Navy veteran from Boone, 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. Dean Briley was recognized on Tuesday, October 19. Below 
is the article in its entirety:

                   Boone County Veterans: Dean Briley

                           (By Greg Eckstrom)

       Military service for the Briley family was a family affair.
       Dean Briley, a Boone County native, along with his three 
     brothers, all found themselves serving their country overseas 
     during WWII, although each stationed in different areas.
       For Briley, with the war already raging, he enlisted in the 
     United States Navy in 1942 as a petty officer third class. He 
     was sworn-in in Des Moines and was sent to Boot Camp at Great 
     Lakes, Ill., near Chicago. Boot camp in the winter in the 
     Midwest was, to say the least, a bit chilly.
       ``It was cold,'' Briley said flatly. ``We didn't have any 
     hot water. We were in a new barracks, and they hadn't gotten 
     hot water to it yet, so we shaved and everything in cold 
     water.''
       Following boot camp, Briley and his wife were sent to 
     Arlington, Va., where they didn't have a place to stay, but 
     had jobs.
       ``The first place I went to was in Washington D.C. at the 
     Bureau of Naval Personnel, supervising naval and civilian 
     personnel,'' Briley said. ``When we went, they didn't have a 
     place for us, so we had to find our own lodging. I guess the 
     first couple of nights we stayed in the Red Cross place until 
     we found a place to live. We were figuring officers' 
     longevity pay. I was there a year and a half. My wife was 
     with me then. She worked in the Navy Department. In 
     Arlington, same place I did. We lived in Washington, D.C.''

[[Page E1962]]

       From there, Briley went through amphibious training and was 
     assigned to LC1 Flotilla 28 staff. The flotilla consisted of 
     28 ships, with Briley stationed on one of the smallest. At 
     150 feet long and only 25 feet wide, it was the smallest 
     seagoing vessel that could cross the ocean by itself.
       ``I had never actually seen the ocean until then,'' Briley 
     said. ``It only drew four feet of water, it had a flat bottom 
     and it was like a cork out there.''
       The small ship sailed from Norfolk, Va. to Bizerte, Tunisia 
     in a 150-ship convoy. The trip took 21 days, after detouring 
     for three days to avoid German submarines.
       Once the ship arrived on land, Briley said they couldn't 
     have liberty in Bizerte since it was quarantined with black 
     plague, so the men were given a two-day pass to go to Tunis.
       ``We met up with a soldier that knew a family there and he 
     would give them some rations that included bacon,'' he said. 
     ``We stayed the night with them and had bacon and eggs for 
     breakfast. That was a treat.''
       Briley spent 1\1/2\ years in the Mediterranean Sea area, 
     with much of the time spent in port. The day-to-day tasks for 
     him included primarily making a news sheet for the men.
       He recalls one particular time, while he was in Palermo, 
     that he had a chance to see the catacombs.
       ``We went down in the catacombs,'' he said. There were 
     bodies laying right out on shelves and stuff. I don't think 
     they show those anymore.''
       Meanwhile, Briley had no communication with his brothers. 
     In fact, while he was headed overseas, one of his brothers 
     was headed back to the United States with an injury--one that 
     could have been much worse.
       ``He was in a foxhole when a bomb hit alongside him and 
     buried him, but his head went into his helmet and then after 
     they took care of the wounded up above, they dug him out and 
     he ended up with just some back injury,'' he said. ``They 
     were in on the front line for I think it was over 300 days.''
       One interesting event for Briley also came after he and a 
     friend borrowed a Jeep while in Naples and ventured to Rome. 
     Although the two didn't do much inside the city, they did go 
     to the Vatican and managed to be in the right place at the 
     right time for a chance meeting with Pope Pius XII. He walked 
     up to Briley, said ``Hello American sailor,'' and blessed the 
     religious items that Briley had been holding. Briley also 
     kissed his ring.
       ``It was just luck,'' he said. ``It was a big room. Then he 
     comes out, just being friendly.''
       When Briley returned from Europe, he was on leave before 
     returning to Norfolk, Va. To meet a ship to go through the 
     Panama Canal to the Pacific when the bombs were dropped on 
     Japan.
       The news that the war had ended shortly after brought a 
     different feeling than excitement for Briley.
       ``It was more relief,'' he said. ``Actually, it's more for 
     the family than anything.''
       I commend Dean Briley 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.

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