[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 197 (Tuesday, December 20, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING RETIRED SERGEANT ELISHA LANGDON II FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS 
                  AND SERVICE TO COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 20, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
remarkable veteran, Retired Sergeant Elisha Langdon II. Mr. Langdon is 
a lifelong resident of the Mississippi Delta.
  Sergeant Langdon was drafted to serve in United States Army after 
graduating from Alcorn High School. Sgt. Langdon served during the time 
of the World War II. While serving our great country, he spearheaded a 
protest letter to General Douglas MacArthur, Commander of the 8th Army, 
President Harry S Truman, and the U.S. Department of Armed Services to 
abolish segregated armed services in the United States and overseas.
  As a result of Mr. Langdon taking a stance against segregation, 
President Truman, prior to the Korean War issued Executive Order #9981 
establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed 
Services for people of all races, religions, and national origins. This 
brought about the abolishment of all-black units in the United States.
  Sergeant Langdon earned the rank of Sergeant and an Honorable 
Discharge after his tour of duty. Upon completion of his tour of duty, 
he returned to the Mississippi Delta to continue his education at 
Alcorn State College in Lorman, Mississippi where in 1951 he received 
his Bachelor of Science Degree in Vocational Agriculture, and then on 
to Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama where he received a Masters 
of Education in Vocational Agriculture.
  Sergeant Langdon has broken many racial barriers. He became the first 
African American employed with the USDA Farmers Home Administration in 
Tunica, Mississippi, and in 1978 he was appointed as an United States 
Department of Agriculture Farm Service Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission Counselor, serving seven southern states and the island of 
Puerto Rico.
  In 1989, Sgt. Langdon was also the first African American elected to 
the City of Ruleville's Board of Alderman. Mr. Langdon is married to 
late Ms. Everett Wims-Langdon and proud parents of one child.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me and our colleagues in recognizing Retired 
Sergeant Elisha Langdon II for his dedication to serving our great 
country.

                          ____________________