[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF GERALD VIRGIL MYERS

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                          HON. DENNIS A. ROSS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2013

  Mr. ROSS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a good friend and an 
American hero, Gerald Virgil Myers.
   Virgil passed away on Sunday, March 10, at 94 years old.
   He served our country in the Army during WWII, having fought in the 
Battle of the Bulge. Three American G.I.s discovered the Buchenwald 
Concentration camp from entering the west gate; Virgil was one of them. 
At the time when he entered there were 26,000 inmates in the camp.
   He earned many honors including the Silver Star medal, the Bronze 
Star medal with Valor, the Purple Heart medal, the Infantry Combat 
Badge medal, the Good Conduct medal, the Victory Medal WWII, received 
the Medal of Honor from Luxembourg Government, the Mairie Medal by 
French Government, was declared an Honorary Citizen of Luxembourg in 
2004, and an Honorary Citizen of France in 2005.
   When he returned home from the war in January 1946, he was 
discharged from the Army. He went back to work for Quaker Oats Co. in 
Kansas and attended night classes at Johnson Business College. Virgil 
and his wife, Emma ``Bobbie'' Tracy Myers, retired to Lakeland, Fla. 
Bobbie and Virgil had celebrated their 70th anniversary before Bobbie's 
passing.
   He loved golfing and traveling and was very involved in the 
community, as a member of the Polk Co. Veterans Association and a 
President of Central Florida Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge.
   We in central Florida and all across America owe a debt of gratitude 
to this great man and his service to our country and community.

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