[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 55 (Thursday, April 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S2504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       REMEMBERING JOSE S. CHAVEZ

 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, the State of New 
Mexico lost a great man on March 17, 2011, when Jose S. Chavez passed 
away at the age of 93. He was a man who served our country proudly 
during World War II and was a survivor of the Bataan Death March. I 
would like to honor his memory today.
  Mr. Chavez was a man of strength. He had a strong faith, a strong 
will to survive, and was described as the strength and patriarch of his 
large and loving family.
  As a member of the 200th Coastal Artillery and 515th Anti-Aircraft 
Battalion, Mr. Chavez served his country in the Phillipines during 
World War II. He was captured along with many other of his fellow 
soldiers and forced to endure the horrors of the Bataan Death March and 
the more than 3 years of captivity which followed.
  Mr. Chavez is credited with saving many lives during the horrific 
march--picking up and carrying men to keep them from being killed. 
Mistaken for dead and put in a grave three times during his captivity, 
Mr. Chavez refused to give up. It was his strong faith in God, and also 
in those he served with, which helped him and others survive the 
inhumane conditions they faced.
  After returning home he worked as a farmer before continuing his 
service to his country by reenlisting in the military and later taking 
a government job.
  Mr. Chavez's strength extended beyond the battlefield to his home 
life, where he was the pillar of his large family. He built the home 
that he and his wife of 65 years, Susie, lived in and was known as the 
man who could fix anything and could always be found tinkering away at 
a project.
  His family will miss his strong-willed and loving personality, and 
certainly feel the void left by Mr. Chavez's passing. Let us take a 
moment today to remember Mr. Chavez and the remarkable strength he 
shared not only with his family, but with our country during his 
service.

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