[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 158 (Tuesday, October 27, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE SERVICE OF DAVID DOWNEY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 27, 2015

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a special man, David Downey, 
of Bourbon County, Kentucky. Mr. Downey, a part of the Greatest 
Generation, answered the call to serve during World War II and had a 
long military career. Today it is my honor to recognize him before the 
United States House of Representatives.
  Mr. Downey was born in Bourbon County and graduated from Western High 
School. He was drafted into the United States Navy in 1944 and began 
his career in boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois. He left the Navy 
after a year and a half of service, and quickly decided to return in 
1946. He remained in the Navy until 1968. Mr. Downey served on a 
transport ship during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He also served 
on destroyers and served as a cook. During his service in Vietnam, he 
was honored to meet Roger Staubach, a Naval Academy graduate and 
Heisman trophy winner.
  Following his retirement from the Navy in 1968, he returned home to 
Kentucky. He worked various jobs before taking a position as a bus 
driver for the Paris Independent School system. He spent the next 
twenty two years driving schoolchildren in Bourbon County.
  Mr. Downey is an active member of the Seventh Street Christian Church 
where he serves as a deacon and sings in the Chariots of Fire choir. He 
loves to bowl and is an active member of a league. Downey and his late 
wife Nannette, were married for fifty three years. He has two girls and 
a boy.
  The bravery of Mr. Downey and his fellow men and women of the United 
States Navy is heroic. Because of his courage and the courage of 
individuals from all across Kentucky and our great nation, our freedoms 
have been preserved for our generation and for future generations. He 
is truly an outstanding American, a patriot, and a hero to us all.

                          ____________________