[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 117 (Thursday, July 24, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S4895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        TRIBUTE TO JIM MORTIMER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to Jim 
Mortimer. Mortimer hails from Magoffin County, KY, and served his 
country honorably over the course of his career with the Kentucky 
National Guard.
  After graduating from Castle Heights Military Academy in Tennessee, 
Mortimer enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. Only 22 at the time, it 
would be 30 years before he retired from the military.
  In 1960, 2 years after enlisting, he was transferred to the Kentucky 
National Guard. His experiences in the Guard ran the gamut from 
clearing out swamps in southern Georgia to riot control on the 
University of Kentucky campus during the Vietnam war to responding to 
natural disasters. It is this diverse range of service to our country 
that epitomizes the National Guard motto--``Always Ready, Always 
There.''
  Mortimer retired from the Guard in 1988 with the rank of command 
sergeant major. In addition to his military service, he also took the 
time to substitute teach in Lexington high schools and obtain his 
masters from Georgetown College.
  His service to this country is worthy of our praise here in the 
Senate--so, I ask that my colleagues join me in paying tribute to Mr. 
Jim Mortimer.
  The Salyersville Independent recently published an article detailing 
Mortimer's military career. I ask unanimous consent that the full 
article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

           [From the Salyersville Independent, July 3, 2014]

                    Mortimer Retires From the Guard

                           (By Heather Oney)

       Geared up early for a career in the military, Magoffin 
     native Jim Mortimer left Magoffin when he was 14 years old 
     and attended Castle Heights Military Academy, in Lebanon, 
     Tennessee. When he was 22 years old and with the draft 
     imminent, Mortimer joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 
     Sistersville, West Virginia, in 1958.
       In 1960 he was transferred to the Kentucky National Guard 
     and was called to active duty during the Berlin Crisis in 
     1962.
       Mortimer's unit replaced another unit that had been 
     deployed to Germany, taking their place at Fort Stewart, 
     Georgia, in charge of repairing vehicles and armament, as 
     well as various National Guard functions, he said, such as 
     riots and natural disasters.
       While he was never sent overseas, he said the year he spent 
     in southern Georgia preparing to be deployed was his 
     strongest memory of his service.
       For a year Mortimer said they lived in Quonset huts and 
     were tasked with clearing out swamps with saws and rakes, 
     cutting trees and brush along the way.
       Also while he was at Fort Stewart, Mortimer said they had a 
     tornado and all the men got in their vehicles armored much 
     like tanks, while he and two other sergeants laid in the 
     ditch.
       ``It was maybe a mile away,'' Mortimer laughed. ``Just lots 
     of wind.''
       With an extremely flat terrain, he said lightning was a 
     problem there, with two of their soldiers hit. He remembers 
     one was near a radio and the lightning hit the antenna, 
     knocking him out of his boots.
       During Desert Storm, Mortimer was sent to Frankfort, 
     working as a liaison aiding the dependents of the men at war.
       During his 30 years of service, he worked at Fort Knox, 
     Kentucky; Fort Campbell, Kentucky-Tennessee border; Fort 
     Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Sill, 
     Oklahoma. Mortimer was involved in rifle marksmanship on the 
     Kentucky State Rifle Team, winning several awards. He had a 
     scout troop sponsored by the National Guard, as well.
       In North Little Rock, Arkansas, he attended National Guard 
     matches, where Guards from all over sent teams to compete.
       During active duty, Mortimer taught second lieutenants in 
     Officer Candidate School (OCS), as well as many other 
     courses, such as marksmanship and all weapons.
       In 1965 he was called to deal with Vietnam War riots on the 
     University of Kentucky's campus, where students had burned 
     down the ROTC building.
       Mortimer obtained the rank of command sergeant major in 
     1980, retiring from his employment with the Kentucky National 
     Guard and as a part-time soldier in 1988.
       While in the Guard, Mortimer went to school, receiving a 
     degree in 1980. He began substitute teaching in Lexington 
     high schools while still in the service.
       In 1973 he returned to Magoffin and started substitute 
     teaching in 1977 at the middle school and high school, where 
     he eventually retired from in 2000. In the meantime, he 
     received his masters from Georgetown College in 1982.
       Mortimer is presently a member of the Salyersville Kiwanis 
     and works part-time with the Magoffin County Sheriff's 
     Office. He has a daughter and two sons, as well as six 
     grandchildren. His wife of 53 years, June, passed away in 
     2011. In 2013, he married Gail King Mortimer and the two sons 
     still live in Magoffin.

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