[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 110 (Thursday, July 21, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE OF HAROLD BLANCHARD MACKENZIE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PETER J. ROSKAM

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 2011

  Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Harold 
Blanchard Mackenzie, a model constituent and a loyal citizen to the 
United States.
  Harold was born on October 14, 1913, in Forsyth, Montana. Harold's 
great-grandfather and grandfather, Jonathan and Charles Blanchard, were 
the first two Presidents of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where 
he would often visit as a young boy. He eventually attended Wheaton 
College, graduating in 1936. He then went on to graduate from law 
school at Northwestern University in Chicago in 1940 and was admitted 
to the Illinois Bar.
  That same year Harold felt the call of duty and enlisted in the 
Illinois National Guard in what would become the 9th Armored Division. 
In 1944, along with the Division, Harold sailed to Europe and 
participated in some of the most pivotal moments of World War II, 
including the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle at Bastogne, and the 
capture of Ludendorf Bridge at Remagen, Germany, in 1945. Harold was 
also a witness to the horrors of the Holocaust when he visited 
Buchenwald concentration camp a day after its liberation.
  Upon returning home to Wheaton, Harold opened his own firm and 
practiced law for over fifty years, earning widespread respect and 
admiration for his legal advice. Always a generous man with a servant 
heart, Harold would often do work pro bono.
  This generosity was a reflection of his deep faith in God. An active 
member of Glen Ellyn Evangelical Covenant Church for more than fifty 
years, Harold would frequently serve on the church's Missions and 
Evangelism Committees. He also played a key role in the founding of the 
Christian Medical Society, the Christian Booksellers' Association, the 
Evangelical Child and Family Agency, and the Missionary Furlough Homes 
Foundation.
  Mr. Speaker and Distinguished Colleagues, Mr. Harold Blanchard 
Mackenzie was a man who understood well his duty to family, to his 
country and to God. After ninety-seven years of a life of commitment, 
love and sacrifice, he is worthy of our deepest honor, respect and 
admiration. Please join me in remembering him as a shining example of 
the best the ``Greatest Generation'' ever had to offer.

                          ____________________