[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 129 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                HONORING MONTANA'S WORLD WAR II VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNY REHBERG

                               of montana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2012

  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, today it is my distinct privilege to 
welcome a very special group of men and women to our Nation's capital. 
And while it is incumbent upon us to honor them, the truth is, they 
honor us with their presence here.
  On September 23, 2012, nearly 100 veterans of the Second World War 
will arrive in Washington, D.C. through the Honor Flight program. Since 
2005, Honor Flight has worked to bring WWII veterans to visit their war 
memorial at the foot of the Washington Monument, and a few feet from 
the White House. In that first year, 137 veterans participated in the 
program. By last year, that total annual participation had swelled to 
18,055.
  And while each of the veterans who has participated deserves our 
thanks and our honor, this particular group is special because it marks 
the second time this year that Honor Flight has brought out a group of 
veterans from Montana.
  You won't find a state that's more proud of our veterans than 
Montana. And we have a lot of them. In fact, you won't find many states 
that have more as a percentage of our population.
  On December 7, 1941 the United States was pulled into the war and 
Montanans answered the call to service. Within the first year, 40,000 
men and women from the Treasure State enlisted. By the end of the war, 
57,000 had served--nearly 10 percent of the state's entire population 
at the time, one of the highest rates in the country.
  They served in every branch and in every theater of the conflict. And 
too many of them never made it back to Montana, although I think that 
heaven must be a little something like a peaceful sunset over the 
Yellowstone River.
  But Montana's veterans didn't sacrifice in vain. They bled and died 
to defeat the greatest threat to freedom the world has ever seen. They 
fought across the bloody islands of the Pacific and in the frozen 
forests of Europe. They fought in the air, land and sea. Some even 
fought below the waves. And they won.
  Today, the men and women who fought and won that war are justifiably 
part of what is called the Greatest Generation. The sacrifices of men 
and women who arrive in Washington, D.C. are the reason for this 
honorable title. It is not something we gave to them, it's something 
they earned.
  As they visit this city and reflect on what it stands for as a beacon 
of freedom to the world, I think the rest of us should remember that 
the reason liberty still exists is because good men stood up to 
tyranny. They are the greatest of the Greatest Generation, and on 
behalf of all Montanans, I want to thank them.
  57,000 Montanans served during World War II. Just under 100 are here 
this week. Please join me in welcoming and honoring:
  Lee Alderdice (Polson, MT); Milton Lyman Amsden (Broadus, MT); Harry 
A. Arvidson (Lincoln, MT); Peter N. ``Bert'' Bertram (Absarokee, MT); 
Leonard E. ``Len'' Bestrom (Laurel, MT); Warren Charles Bodecker 
(Plains, MT); Ralph Floyd Brewington (Broadview, MT); James C. ``Jim'' 
Brook (Lewistown, MT); William Boner ``Bill'' Brown (Billings, MT); 
Jackson Lamar ``Jack'' Burger (Lavina, MT); Filmore Burton Canon 
(Broadus, MT); John M. Clark (Butte, MT); Harold Lee ``Hal'' Conrad 
(Lewistown, MT); Hollis E. Coon (Butte, MT); Gool Counts (Livingston, 
MT); Carley Rhein Cromwell (Missoula, MT); Leo Eckhardt (Billings, MT); 
James E. ``Jim'' Elander (Missoula, MT); James ``Jim'' Ellison 
(Billings, MT); Charles T. ``Bosco'' Eskro (Billings, MT); Frank D. 
Evans (Billings, MT); Alvin Oscar Fisher (Billings, MT); Samuel W. 
Frank (Laurel, MT); Durl J. Gibbs (Buffalo, MT); Raymond P. ``Ray'' 
Gregori (Hungry Horse, MT); Robert Glover Hall (Potomac, MT); Charles 
E. ``Chuck'' Halstead (Columbus, MT); Thomas A. ``Tom'' Hanel 
(Billings, MT); Russell LeRoy Hartse (Missoula, MT); James ``Jim'' 
Hasterlik (Great Falls, MT); Milam V. Hearron (Billings, MT); McDonald 
Watkins ``Don'' Held (Billings, MT); Lewis Wiliam ``Louie'' Holzheimer 
(Great Falls, MT); Bernard E. ``Barney'' Ilertson (Corvallis, MT); Earl 
T. Jackson (Deer Lodge, MT); Elwin M. Johnson (Laurel, MT); George L. 
Kimmet (Billings, MT); Vincent Leo ``Vince'' Koefelda (Laurel, MT); 
Vernon Lee ``Vern'' Koelzer (Billings, MT); Frank J. Koncilya 
(Lewistown, MT); Andre Rioul ``Andy'' Kukay (Great Falls, MT); Willard 
E. ``Bud'' LaCounte (Billings, MT); Albert Raymond ``Al'' Lasater 
(Ryegate, MT); Harold J. Lasater (Forsyth, MT); Gorvan J. ``Duke'' 
LeDuc (Laurel, MT); Oscar Lawrence ``Lawrence'' Lee (Shepherd, MT); 
Norman D. Leonard (Billings, MT); Joseph Biggs ``Joe'' Litle (Bozeman, 
MT); Max E. Long (Laurel, MT); Robert W. Lubbers (Billings, MT); 
Leonard John ``Pat'' Mager (Harlowton, MT); James J. Marshall 
(Missoula, MT); William R. ``Bill'' Matthew (Anaconda, MT); Paul Messer 
(Billings, MT); Elizabeth Steele ``Betty'' Meyer (Paradise, MT); 
Geraldine E. ``Gerry'' Mihalic (Missoula, MT); Gerald Kenneth ``Jerry'' 
Nelson (Billings, MT); John H. ``O'bie'' O'Bannon (Stevensville, MT); 
Clarence Allan ``Ole'' Olson (Billings, MT); Eddie C. Olson (Vida, MT); 
Ray A. ``Ole'' Olson (Billings, MT); Thomas F. ``Pat'' Patterson 
(Stevensville, MT); Roy Louis ``Pete'' Peters (Roy, MT); John W. Porter 
(Deer Lodge, MT); Carl ``Corky'' Redding (Billings, MT); Michael Gene 
Rhodes (Billings, MT); Robert V. ``Bob'' Ryan (E. Helena, MT); Charles 
Franklin ``Frank'' Sandford (Missoula, MT); Dave Schledewitz (Townsend, 
MT); Laurence Norbert Shipp (Miles City, MT); William James ``Jim'' 
SiveIle (Poison, MT); Anthony William ``Bill'' Skorupa (Bridger, MT); 
Charles E. ``Chuck'' Smith (Billings, MT); Donald E. Smith (Melville, 
MT); Kenneth C. ``K.C.'' Smith (St. Regis, MT); Robert M. ``Bob'' 
Standefer (Billings, MT); John R. ``Jack'' Stevenson (Missoula, MT); 
Frank Phillip Thatcher (Billings, MT); Clifford V. ``Cliff'' Thomsen 
(Billings, MT); Robert E. ``Bob'' Torgrimson (Billings, MT); Ronald 
Wilmar ``Buck'' Torstenson (Kalispell, MT); James Arthur ``Jim'' Vick 
(Billings, MT); Albert ``Al'' Wade (Billings, MT); James Forest ``Jim'' 
Walker (Billings, MT); Bernard Edgar Wanderaas (Vida, MT); Joseph A. 
``Joe'' Weber (Deer Lodge, MT); Allen L. ``Buster'' Whittington 
(Billings, MT); Bryce Wood Williams (Billings, MT); Andrew R. ``Pete'' 
Winter (Ronan, MT).

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