[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF JIM LOONEY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 6, 2014

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of 
Mr. Jim Looney, who passed away in 2012. Jim was a World War II veteran 
who served the United States of America honorably in the Philippines 
and Japan. He was truly a leader in the Chowchilla community.
  Jim grew up in Puyallup, Washington, a small community near Tacoma. 
In 1943, after he graduated from Puyallup High School, Jim moved to 
Chowchilla, California, where he worked on his uncle's dairy farm.
  In 1944, Jim joined the U.S. Army and underwent basic training at 
Camp Roberts in California. During the winter of 1945, Jim boarded a 
ship headed to the Pacific. He was assigned as a rifleman to the 163rd 
Regiment of the 41st Division in the Philippines. By the time Jim 
joined, the 163rd was a battle-hardened regiment that had fought 
several battles since their landing in October 1944.
  Jim and his fellow soldiers conducted patrols and mopping up actions 
in the southern Philippines. He and the 163rd landed at Arara in May 
1945 and consolidated the areas of Arara and Toem. They then moved onto 
Wakde Island and invaded Biak Island two weeks later.
  After securing the islands, the Army began preparations for Operation 
Olympic, the invasion of the Japanese mainland. The 41st Division and 
its infantry regiments, including Jim and the rest of the 163rd began 
to prepare for the invasion. The men were issued cold weather gear for 
their planned landing in northern Japan, code-named HIRO, for 
Hiroshima. Jim, along with the men of the 163rd were waiting to board 
troopships for the invasion, when the atomic bombs hit Hiroshima and 
Nagasaki, ending the war.
  Jim was promoted to staff sergeant and was shipped to Japan as part 
of the occupation forces. Jim and the 163rd went ashore near Hiroshima 
a few weeks after the end of the war and saw the overwhelming effects 
of the bombing first-hand.
  Jim returned to the United States in 1946 and was discharged at Fort 
Lewis, Washington. For his service, Jim was awarded the Combat 
Infantryman's Badge, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the Philippine 
Campaign and Liberation Medals, the Army of Occupation Medal and the 
World War II Victory Medal.
  Upon leaving the service, Jim returned to Chowchilla where he became 
well known for his involvement in ranching. He was a founding member of 
the Chowchilla Stampede Committee and also served with distinction as a 
member of the Chowchilla-Madera County Fair Board for more than thirty 
years.
  Jim was a Life Member of the Chowchilla Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 
9896. He and his wife, Annie, had four daughters, eight grandchildren, 
and two great-grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the 
life and service of Mr. Jim Looney for his love and dedication to his 
family, community, and nation.

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