[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 89 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A TRIBUTE TO SERGEANT WILLIAM LEE BERG

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2013

  Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the invaluable service 
to our nation by Sergeant William Lee Berg, and to recognize the great 
work being done by the Pottawattamie County Veteran Affairs office.
   On Monday, June 24th, the Pottawattamie County Veteran Affairs 
office will be assisting in honoring Sergeant Berg's legacy by 
presenting his family with several medals he earned during service in 
Vietnam, including the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Service 
Medal with a Silver Star. Most notably, however, Sergeant Berg will be 
posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained in 
a helicopter crash as a door gunman while on a war mission on June 18, 
1968, and the Air Medal for his participation in more than two dozen 
aerial missions in counterinsurgency operations. It goes without saying 
that Sergeant Berg's service to our nation was nothing short of 
exemplary.
   Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to represent the people of Iowa, 
the city of Council Bluffs, and the important legacy of Sergeant Berg 
in the United States Congress. His heroic contribution to our nation's 
efforts in Vietnam represents just one example of the long tradition of 
selflessness and service upheld by Iowans serving in the U.S. Armed 
Forces. I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in acknowledging 
Sergeant Berg's actions and thanking the Pottawattamie County Veteran 
Affairs office for their assistance in this ceremony. I humbly express 
my sincere gratitude to all of our nation's veterans, service members 
and their families for their service and sacrifice.