[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING LESTER L. STROUP

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG LAMBORN

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2015

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the legacy of Lester 
L. Stroup, a veteran, a former prisoner of war and a treasured member 
of the Colorado Springs community. Throughout his life, Lester proudly 
served and sacrificed for his country, then devoted the remainder of 
this life to veterans' organizations in the Pikes Peak Region.
  Lester joined the Army in 1949, during the Second World War, and was 
assigned to the artillery outfit of the 2nd Infantry Division. Shortly 
thereafter, he was deployed in defense of the Busan Perimeter following 
North Korea's invasion of South Korea in 1950. Lester would be on the 
front lines only one month when his artillery battery was overrun and 
suffered a defeat. Wounded and surrounded by Chinese forces, Lester and 
his unit were captured on December 1, 1950. A brutal 400-mile march to 
the Puchkin Mining Camp initiated Lester's time as a prisoner of war, 
which lasted for exactly 1,000 days.
   While imprisoned at the Puchkin Mining Camp, Lester and 750 of his 
fellow American servicemen were compelled to act as their own burial 
detail. Every day, on the brink of starvation, these gallant soldiers 
went out in groups of 12 or 14 to dig shallow graves for prisoners who 
had died. In less than one years' time, five hundred American prisoners 
of war perished in this camp, also known as the Death Valley Camp. When 
Lester was finally released, he was denied the Purple Heart Medal for 
lack of medical records maintained by the Chinese forces.
   Lester first retired in 1969 with 20 years of service in the Army, 
re-enlisting in 1970 and serving a voluntary combat tour in Vietnam. 
After retiring for good as a First Sergeant in 1975, he dedicated his 
time and energy to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Ex-Prisoners of 
War, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Retired Enlisted Association, 
Disabled American Veterans, and American Legion Post 5. In 2006, Lester 
vigorously led the effort to erect a beautiful memorial that now stands 
in Colorado Springs in memory of our POWs.
   Until he passed away on August 17, 2014 at the age of 84, Lester 
unsparingly gave of himself to his fellow ex-prisoners of war and other 
veterans. His legacy will now be carried on by Doris, his wife of 58 
years, his children, his friends, and those with whom he associated as 
a volunteer. I am greatly honored to celebrate the life and service of 
Lester Stroup, a patriot whose uncommon and tireless devotion to his 
country will never be forgotten by his fellow citizens.

                          ____________________