[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 20, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE WORLD WAR II VETERANS OF SOUTH MISSISSIPPI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEVEN M. PALAZZO

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 20, 2013

  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize an organization that has been serving our Greatest Generation 
since 2011. I'm referring to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight.
  Under the leadership of Kimberly Foster Moody and a dedicated team of 
board members and volunteers, our Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight 
has taken almost 600 veterans to Washington spread among seven trips 
and I was proud to be there to meet every single group. They did it all 
free of charge, using private donations. For many of these veterans, it 
was their first and only time to visit the nation's capital, or the 
World War II Memorial. On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, this organization 
completed its work with a final flight carrying more than 70 veterans 
to Washington.
  These veterans live among us as our friends and neighbors. They made 
huge sacrifices protecting the very freedoms that we enjoy today. They 
fought in some of the most hostile environments, and against some of 
history's most formidable foes, so that the world can be what it is 
today.
  It has been a privilege to be able to join our Mississippi World War 
II veterans during these flights and see the look on their faces when 
they see their monument. As a Marine veteran of the Persian Gulf War, I 
feel a special kinship to these men and women who served so long ago. 
They also remind me of my own grandfather, who served in the Pacific on 
Guadalcanal during World War II.
  Of the 16 million Americans who left their farms, fields, shops and 
families to fight evil half way around the world, 400 thousand 
Americans never returned home. Those who did, asked for nothing in 
return when they hung up their uniform and returned to their families, 
jobs, and normal life. I have asked many men and women over the years 
why they did it and almost all of them have said for God, Family, and 
Country.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation, I want to say thank you 
to so many in the South Mississippi community who volunteered for and 
supported this organization with its service to our veterans. I also 
want to once again thank all of our nation's World War II veterans. 
Truly, these veterans are our Greatest Generation.

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