[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 120 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S5243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH CONKLIN LaNIER, II

 Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, today, August 2, 2011, I wish to 
thank Joseph Conklin LaNier, II for his service to the United States of 
America as a member of the U.S. Navy during World War II, and for 
choosing to make Colorado his home. His has been a life of service for 
Colorado and for all Americans.
  A native Southerner, Mr. LaNier was among the first African Americans 
to serve in the Navy with the rating of seaman, before President Truman 
signed the Executive order that desegregated the Armed Forces. He 
fought with the 23rd Special CB, ``Seabee'', unit, a part of the 3rd 
Marine Division, in some of the most horrific battles of the South 
Pacific.
  I had the honor of meeting Mr. LaNier this past week during his visit 
to Washington, DC, with The Greatest Generations Foundation, a Colorado 
nonprofit organization that organizes trips for WWII veterans to return 
to locations where they have served.
  We can all learn from Mr. LaNier. He entered the Armed Forces at the 
age of 17 in order to help support his family and serve his country. He 
served bravely from 1944 to 1946, supporting operations in Iwo Jima and 
Okinawa, and achieved a rank not commonly held by African Americans at 
the time.
  Upon returning home from the war and finding strict laws and 
practices of segregation still in place throughout the South, Mr. 
LaNier followed the advice of his father regarding the importance of 
education as the primary tool for bettering one's future, and finished 
high school. With the aid of the G.I. bill, he enrolled in the Pharmacy 
School at Xavier University in New Orleans and took heavy course loads 
to make sure he completed his degree in 4 years. Despite the challenges 
of segregation, he studied and succeeded in his career, while keeping a 
constructive attitude, a trait he attributes to the teachings of his 
father.
  Mr. LaNier is a role model for the many servicemembers who reside in 
Colorado and the veterans who elect to make Colorado their home after 
serving in the Armed Forces. His story exemplifies the successful 
transition that many returning veterans have made from active duty to 
civilian life.
  Although he is a native of the South, and has traveled to a number of 
locations in the United States, it struck me as interesting that, out 
of all the places he traveled while in the Navy, Mr. LaNier chose to 
make Denver, CO, his home. In his autobiographical essay, ``My War on 
Two Fronts,'' LaNier recollects that during a period of leave, he had a 
stopover in Denver, where in a relatively brief period of time, the 
State showed him its character. A White female clerk at a drugstore 
seemed to sense his hesitation about sitting down, and invited him to 
take a seat and enjoy his ice cream. Later, when visiting a local movie 
theatre, he was surprised and delighted to find that there was no sign 
directing him to sit in segregated seating in the balcony. Mr. LaNier 
felt so welcomed by our State that he decided to make Colorado his home 
after the Navy. Following his graduation from pharmacy school, he moved 
to Denver and worked in pharmacies and in hospitals, and eventually 
opened up his own drugstore. Mr. LaNier found that, in Colorado, his 
voice could be heard on critical issues of the day, including the fight 
for fair housing measures to end discrimination in housing. Today, Mr. 
LaNier and his wife of more than 50 years, Eula Inez Long, continue to 
make Colorado their home.
  Mr. President and all other Members here today, please join me in 
honoring the life and continued work of Joseph Conklin LaNier, II. A 
man who, despite all the discrimination he faced, is proud to be an 
American. A man who, despite returning home after the war and being 
denied his right to vote while wearing his uniform, is proud of his 
distinguished service in the Navy. A man who recognizes that even in 
the face of adversity, one can find a way forward and help our country 
to become a better place, a more perfect union. For his perseverance, 
hope, service and patriotism, I thank and commend Joseph LaNier, a 
great citizen of Colorado.

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