[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 15, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1160-E1161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE OF H. MINTON FRANCIS, SR.

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 15, 2014

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and pay tribute 
to the extraordinary achievements of my constituent, Henry Minton 
Francis, Sr., who devoted his entire life to serving our country and 
his community. Mr. Francis was also the oldest living African American 
graduate of West Point Academy.
  H. Minton Francis, Lt. Col., USA Ret., was a fifth generation 
Washingtonian and resident of Chevy Chase, MD. He attended public 
schools in the District of Columbia where he graduated from the famous 
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Educated at the University of 
Pennsylvania and the United States Military Academy, he also studied at 
Syracuse University, where he earned an MBA degree with honors and was 
elected to the International Honor Society of Beta Gamma Sigma. 
Following graduation from West Point in 1944, Mr. Francis served the 
nation as an officer of the Regular Army for twenty-one years. He was a 
member of the Army Concept Team in Vietnam; a commander of artillery 
soldiers in the Korean Conflict and in World War II. His final military 
duty was to serve as a staff officer for the Comptroller of the Army 
and the Secretary of Defense.
  Subsequent to his retirement from the Army, Mr. Francis worked both 
in government and the private sector. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
Defense, Mr. Francis was in charge of the Defense Human Goals Program 
guaranteeing protection of the rights of, and equal opportunities for, 
women, minorities and the disabled of all races, ethnic groups and 
religions. His program embraced the now famous Defense Equal 
Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) at Patrick Air Force Base in 
Florida, the first of its kind anywhere in the United States. For his 
extraordinary efforts, Mr. Francis was awarded the Distinguished 
Civilian Service Medal for his exceptional service in the Department of 
Defense.
  On leaving federal service, Mr. Francis accepted appointments at 
Howard University as Director of University Planning; Executive 
Director of the University-Wide Self-Study Task force; Executive 
Secretary of the Presidential Search Committee in 1989; Special 
Assistant to the President; and Director of Governmental Affairs. In 
December 1992, he was appointed President of the Black Revolutionary 
War Patriots Foundation, authorized at that time by the United States 
Congress to erect a memorial on the National Mall in honor of the more 
than 5,000 African Americans who fought and died in the American 
Revolution.
  For nearly 20 years Mr. Francis was a civilian aide to the Secretary 
of the Army, a voluntary office without compensation, where he carried 
the Army's message and image to the American people.
  As a human resources consultant to the Secretary of the Army, Mr. 
Francis traveled to Europe at his own expense to investigate and report 
on the command climate with respect to race and gender relations in the 
U.S. Army units stationed in Germany. He performed a similar service 
for Army installations in the midwestem United States. The report 
produced by his group led to major changes in the Army's policy and 
practices with respect to race and gender.
  Mr. Francis was a Life Member of Disabled American Veterans, and the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars. Additionally, he was a Trustee Emeritus of 
the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, a 
member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, the Board of 
Managers of the Historical Society of Washington, DC, and the Board of 
Directors of Metropolitan USO in Washington. He was a volunteer member 
of the Board of Directors of the Carroll Publishing Company of the 
Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. He held memberships in the National 
Press Club and the University Club of Washington, DC, and he was a 
member of Sigma Pi Phi, the oldest and one of the most prestigious 
African-American fraternities.
  Mr. Francis is survived by his second wife Alicia G. D. Francis and 
five children from his first marriage: Marsha A. Francis, Henry M. 
Francis, Jr., M.D.; Peter M. Francis, Morya K.F. Ferris, and John H. 
Francis, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, nieces, 
nephews, other relatives and friends.
  I am proud to speak today to honor this extraordinary man and I urge 
my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. H. Minton Francis Sr.'s 
many accomplishments, his lifelong work on behalf of our nation's 
veterans, and his profound commitment to honoring their service.

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