[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 48 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1993-S1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO WILMER LEE BOGGS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to a man 
who has not only valiantly served his country but has also been a 
devoted husband and a loving father and grandfather, Mr. Wilmer Lee 
Boggs of Laurel County, KY. Mr. Boggs served in the U.S. Army Air Corps 
for over 3 years, and upon returning home he contributed to the Nation 
in a different way, by serving with the U.S. Postal Service for a 
quarter of a century.
  Wilmer was drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces in 1942. He was 21 
years old. Shortly after receiving glowing scores on his entrance exam, 
he was pulled out of basic training in Ft. Thomas, KY, after only a few 
days and transferred to the Air Corps, the Army service division from 
which the Air Force would later come. At the time, the Army Air Corps 
was in need of mechanics, specifically supercharger mechanics. 
Superchargers were built onto plane engines to provide the vehicle with 
more power and speed. The skills displayed by the young Wilmer Boggs 
showed that he was the man for the job.
  Wilmer Boggs, along with the rest of his supercharger class No. 21, 
graduated from the Aviation Institute of Technology in 1943. Based in 
England, Wilmer spent the next 7 months going wherever the Corps called 
him to repair, service, stock, and fuel the airplanes.
  Born and raised in Laurel County, Wilmer Boggs had never lived 
anywhere else. While he was in the Army Air Corps he traveled through 
19 different countries and made sure to hold onto a little piece of 
home the entire time: his dear friend Wilma Vaughn. Mr. Boggs had 
promised Wilma, whom he had met at Sue Bennett College, that he would 
write to her faithfully each month, and that is exactly what he did. 
The two kept up until the soldier returned home in January 1946.
  Just 6 months later, in July of 1946, Wilmer went to pick Wilma up 
from her house with the idea of marriage in the back of his mind. The 
unsuspecting Wilma was no doubt surprised by Wilmer's request. But love 
prevailed, and later that day the two were wed, and according to 
Wilmer, ``She was the best wife there ever was.''
  Wilmer went on to become a postmaster in the U.S. Postal Service 
while Wilma taught elementary school. They retired together in 1981. 
Sadly, his beloved Wilma passed away in 2011 but not before the two had 
seen almost the entire western part of the United States together.
  Wilmer has spent his 89 years on Earth forging a legacy that is 
matched by few. His character is upstanding, and he is a man driven by 
principle. He is deeply loved and admired by his family, and he is 
greatly respected by those who know him. It is men like Wilmer whom we 
can all look up to. Underneath the loyalty and service he has shown his 
country in its time of need, there is a deep and humble appreciation 
for his fellow man and local community, which he has conveyed 
throughout his lifetime.
  Mr. President, at this time I would like to ask my Senate colleagues 
to join me in commemorating Mr. Wilmer Lee Boggs for his upstanding 
character and devoted service to country and community throughout his 
prosperous lifetime.
  An article was published in the Sentinel Echo Silver Edition in the 
fall of 2011. The story observed the phenomenal life and times of 
Wilmer Lee Boggs and his dedication to the U.S. Postal Service, the 
U.S. Army, and his local economy. Mr. President, I ask unanimous 
consent that said article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

           [From the Sentinel Echo Silver Edition, Fall 2011]

                     World War II: Taking the Lead

                          (By Carrie Dillard)

       After 25 years with the United States Postal Service, 
     Wilmer Lee Boggs retired as postmaster in 1981. The 89-year-
     old has worked in banking and the family business, in farm 
     machinery and dairy. He's volunteered for more than four 
     decades with soil conservation and the Gideons.
       With his natural leadership abilities, Boggs could've been 
     a politician like his father, Boyd Boggs, who served as both 
     judge and sheriff during his lifetime, but he preferred 
     tinkering with tools instead.
       It's why his job in the U.S. Army Air Corps suited him 
     perfectly. Boggs was an airplane engine mechanic, 
     specializing in superchargers.
       ``It was pretty fortunate to get to do something I liked to 
     do.'' he said.
       Boggs was drafted into the military in 1924. He was 21 
     years old.
       ``I got a notice to go into London to the draft board. I 
     was expecting in,'' he said.
       Although Boggs was drafted into the Army, his entrance exam 
     quickly showed an aptitude for more, and he was chosen for 
     the Air Corps, a predecessor to the Air Force.
       He was supposed to do his basic training at Fort Thomas, 
     Kentucky, but after just a couple of days there, he was 
     selected to go to mechanics school.
       ``I took a test,'' he said, ``and they pulled me out it. 
     They was needing people to go to mechanics school.''
       Boggs was then selected to specialize in superchargers, 
     which gave the airplane engine more power, and became a 
     graduating member of supercharger class No. 21 from the 
     Aviation Institute of Technology in 1943.
       During the war, Boggs's home base was England. Boggs has 
     lived his whole life in Laurel County, except for his time in 
     the service when he traveled to 19 countries, including 
     Scotland, Casablanca, Algeria, and Russia.
       ``It was my first time away from home,'' he said. He 
     remembers the damp cold of Ireland, the beauty of 
     Switzerland, and being bombed out in Russia.
       Supercharger mechanics were scarce. Boggs said he'd be 
     moved from base to base as needed. ``Our job was to service 
     the planes, put bombs in them, fuel them up and repair 
     them,'' he said.
       At his highest rank, he was a sergeant. ``That's the 
     highest I wanted to go,'' Boggs said. ``If you went any 
     higher, you had more responsibility.''
       In total, Boggs was in the Air Corps for 38 months, 
     spending seven months overseas.
       During his time across the ocean, he'd write home to family 
     and to an ``acquaintance,'' Wilma Vaughn.
       Boggs met Wilma, who would later become his wife, while he 
     was attending Sue Bennett College, but the first time he saw 
     her was at Lily High School. Boggs went to school at Lily for 
     15 weeks before transferring to Hazel Green, but he would 
     remember Wilma.
       ``I don't think I even spoke to her then,'' he said, ``but 
     that was the first time I saw her.''
       Although they were not dating at the time, Boggs said he 
     would write her faithfully once a month.
       ``I couldn't tell (her) much about what I was doing,'' he 
     said. Although Boggs went overseas on a ship--the Queen 
     Mary--he came back in a boat one-third of the size.
       ``I was seasick,'' he said. After their departure, they 
     encountered a storm and were

[[Page S1994]]

     forced to wait it out. ``For 17 days, we didn't move, just 
     rocked. Everyone was sick.''
       Upon leaving military service, he made short work about 
     marrying Wilma Vaughn.
       ``I came home in January 1946. We were married in July 
     1946.''
       On the day that would end up being his wedding day, Boggs 
     asked to borrow his father's Chevy. He didn't have a car at 
     the time. He drove over to Wilma's house and picked her up.
       ``She didn't know we was going to get married until I 
     picked her up,'' Boggs said. ``She was the best wife there 
     ever was. A real Christian woman.''
       The couple's first car was a '36 Ford they bought in 1947. 
     They'd been married for six months and needed a car because 
     Wilma was teaching school.
       Boggs said it seems odd by today's standard that you'd have 
     to buy a nearly decade-old car, but that's the way it was 
     back then.
       ``You couldn't get a car back then, new or used. We were 
     lucky to get that one,'' he said.
       While at Sublimity Elementary, Wilma retired from teaching 
     in 1981, the same year Boggs retired from the post office, in 
     order to travel. Before Wilma's passing earlier this year, 
     the two had seen most of the western United States together.
       Boggs enjoys woodworking, having built his home in the 
     Sublimity area. He keeps his family close, as a majority live 
     just a stone's throw away, including his daughter, Libby 
     Smallwood.
       He has three grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.

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