[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4008-H4010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ABIE ABRAHAM VA CLINIC

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5317) to designate the Department of Veterans 
Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, 
Pennsylvania, as the ``Abie Abraham VA Clinic'', as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5317

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) Abie Abraham of Lyndora, Pennsylvania, was stationed 
     during World War II with the 18th Infantry in New York; three 
     years with the 14th Infantry in Panama; 15th Infantry, 
     unassigned in China, while the U.S.S. Panay was sunk; 30th 
     Infantry, Presidio, San Francisco; and the 31st Infantry, 
     Manila, Philippines, for nine years.
       (2) During World War II, Abraham fought, was captured, 
     endured the Bataan Death March and as a prisoner of war for 
     three and a half years, was beaten, stabbed, shot, survived 
     malaria and starvation to be rescued by the 6th Rangers.
       (3) Abraham stayed behind at the request of General Douglas 
     MacArthur for two and a half more years disinterring the 
     bodies of his fallen comrades from the Bataan Death March and 
     the prison camps, helping to identify their bodies and see 
     that they were properly laid to rest.
       (4) After his promotion in 1945, Abraham came back to the 
     United States where he served as a recruiter and then also 
     served two years in Germany until his retirement with 30 
     years of service as a Master Sergeant.
       (5) Abraham received numerous medals for his service, 
     including the Purple Heart, and had several documentaries on 
     the Discovery Channel and History Channel.
       (6) Abraham wrote the books ``Ghost of Bataan Speaks'' in 
     1971 and ``Oh, God, Where Are You'' in 1977 to help the 
     public better understand what our brave men endured at the 
     hands of the Imperial Japanese Army as prisoners of war.
       (7) Abraham was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign 
     Wars, the American Legion, the Purple Heart Combat/Infantry 
     Organization, the American Ex-POWs, the Disabled American 
     Veterans, and the American Defenders of Bataan.
       (8) Abraham was a volunteer at Veterans Affairs Butler 
     Healthcare for 23 years from 1988 to 2011 and had 36,851 
     service hours caring for our veterans.

     SEC. 2. ABIE ABRAHAM VA CLINIC.

       (a) Designation.--The Department of Veterans Affairs health 
     care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, 
     shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known 
     and designated as the ``Abie Abraham VA Clinic''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     health care center referred to in subsection (a) shall be 
     deemed to be a reference to the ``Abie Abraham VA Clinic''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5317, a bill to name the 
Department of Veterans Affairs VA healthcare center in Center Township,

[[Page H4009]]

Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the Abie Abraham VA Clinic.
  This bill is sponsored by Congressman Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania. I 
am grateful to him for his work to introduce this legislation to honor 
a true American hero.
  Master Sergeant Abraham lived a truly remarkable life. Born in 
Lyndora, Pennsylvania, as 1 of 11 children, he set a world record as a 
young teenager for sitting in a tree for 3\1/2\ months--that is rather 
amazing, I might add--according to his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette.
  In 1932, at the age of just 19, he enlisted in the United States 
Navy. Two years later, he enlisted in the United States Army. Over the 
course of a 30-year military career, he served in the Philippines, 
China, Germany, Panama, and earned a number of well-deserved accolades, 
including the Purple Heart.
  During World War II, he survived the Bataan Death March. Over the 
course of 3\1/2\ years in captivity, Master Sergeant Abraham was 
beaten, stabbed, shot, and starved. At one point, he contracted 
malaria. Instead of returning immediately to the United States 
following his rescue, Master Sergeant Abraham agreed to stay behind at 
the request of General Douglas MacArthur. For 2\1/2\ years, he worked 
to recover the remains of his fallen comrades and to ensure they 
received the respect they were certainly due.
  Following his service, Abie Abraham devoted his time to caring for 
his fellow brothers and sisters in arms. He was a lifelong member of 
several veterans service organizations. He also volunteered at the VA 
Butler Healthcare Center, where, over the course of 23 years, he would 
spend almost 40,000 hours tending to veteran patients there.

                              {time}  1715

  According to his obituary, Master Sergeant Abraham would arrive at 
the Butler VA facility at 6:45 in the morning, 5 days a week, and spend 
hours in greeting veteran patients, in helping them where they needed 
to go, in answering their questions, in bringing them coffee, and in 
generally making their experiences at the VA easier and better. In his 
spare time, he authored two books about his experiences in the 
military; he made public appearances at schools and community centers; 
and he participated in documentary films that have aired on the 
Discovery and History channels.
  I must mention as well that, in addition to his being a hero on the 
battlefield and at the VA afterwards, an accomplished author, and an 
inspirational mentor, he was also a lightweight boxing champion and 
trainer.
  In 2012, Master Sergeant Abraham died at the age of 98. Given his 
long and full life--a life that was characterized by service to others 
both in uniform and out--it is only fitting and appropriate that we 
honor Master Sergeant Abraham by naming the VA healthcare center in 
Butler County, Pennsylvania, after him.
  This legislation satisfies all of the committee's naming criteria and 
is supported by the Pennsylvania congressional delegation as well as by 
many VSOs.
  Once again, I thank my colleague, Congressman Mike Kelly, for 
introducing this bill, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 5317, a bill to designate the Department of 
Veterans Affairs healthcare center in Center Township, Butler County, 
Pennsylvania, as the Abie Abraham VA Clinic.
  Born in 1913, Abie Abraham was a decorated World War II veteran who 
served in both the United States Navy and the United States Army and 
served in the Philippines, China, Germany, and Panama. As the text of 
the bill states, he was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines and 
survived the Bataan Death March and 3\1/2\ years as a prisoner of war. 
Not only did he survive that ordeal, but when General MacArthur asked 
him to stay and help identify the remains of his fallen comrades, he 
did so for almost 3 more years, making sure those who died in the 
Philippines received proper military funerals.
  He wrote his first book, ``Ghost of Bataan Speaks,'' in 1971 and 
wrote his second book, ``Oh, God. Where Are You?'' in 1997. His intent 
was to help the public better understand what took place with regard to 
our brave men being POWs at the hands of the Japanese.
  Abie Abraham had received numerous medals for his service, including 
the Purple Heart. He was a life member of the VFW, the American Legion, 
the Purple Heart Combat/Infantry organization, the Ex-Prisoners of War 
organization, the Disabled American Veterans, and the American 
Defenders of Bataan. He had been a volunteer at the VA Butler 
Healthcare Center since 1988 and had volunteered over 38,000 hours. One 
of his favorite pastimes was helping other veterans.
  For all that Mr. Abraham did during and after the war, I rise in 
support of this legislation to name this VA facility after him--a true 
American.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman 
from Butler, Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).
  Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 5317. This is 
the designation of the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare center 
in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the Abie Abraham VA 
Clinic, as amended, and I urge its adoption.
  I never called him ``Abie.'' I always called him ``Sergeant'' or 
``Mr. Abraham.'' I knew him, and he was not a very big man. If you were 
to see him, his stature, he was, probably, 5 feet, 5 inches or 5 feet, 
6 inches. When I met him, it was a little bit later in life, and he 
never, ever bragged about his service. He never talked about it. I just 
knew him as a guy who lived in my hometown, as a guy who was a veteran, 
as a guy who was a prisoner of war; but then things started to unfold 
about what Mr. Abraham had endured. Now, I want you to think about 
this.
  Once the Japanese attacked the Philippines and were able to take the 
peninsula at Bataan, Mr. Abraham survived the Bataan Death March. That 
was 6 days and 7 nights of endless marching without food, without 
water, without any type of medical care. He had been 3\1/2\ years 
interned in a Japanese prison camp. You heard what the doctor said and 
what Ms. Brown said. This guy went through incredible pain and 
suffering to get there, but for as long as I knew him, he never bragged 
about it. He never said, ``This is what I did.'' I never knew until he 
wrote the book about the ghost of Bataan.
  I sat down with him one night, and I said: Mr. Abraham, you never 
told me about this.
  He said: Well, you didn't need to know about this. It is just 
something we all did.
  Every American came forward and did what he could do during World War 
II and continued to do it. There are 1.4 million Americans in uniform 
who have given their lives so that this county could survive, so that 
our country could survive.
  If you knew Abie Abraham the way I knew Abie Abraham and the way the 
people in my town knew Abie Abraham, he was totally selfless. His whole 
mission in life was to serve veterans. In 1988, he visited somebody in 
the VA hospital, and he decided, after that, to stay. He stayed and he 
stayed and he stayed--almost 37,000 hours of volunteer service.
  When you look at his gravestone--and I was there when he was interred 
in Arlington--it reads: ``Born July 31, 1913. Died March 22, 2011.'' 
Yet they don't talk about the days in between. They don't talk about 
the minutes in between or about the hours in between or about the years 
in between--those 98 years he spent in service and, especially, the 
last years of his life.
  If you were to have gone to the VA center in Butler, you would have 
seen he was there every morning at a quarter to 7. He was there to help 
people--to greet veterans, to let them know that they were appreciated. 
He used to tell people all the time, especially young people: When you 
meet a veteran, grab his or her hand and thank him for his service to 
America.
  This is the type of America that I grew up in. I don't think it was 
unlike any other towns in America, and I don't think Mr. Abraham was 
different than any other citizen of America. They were just those types 
of people.

[[Page H4010]]

  So now, for that veteran center to be named after Sergeant Abraham, I 
can't tell you the sense of pride it brings not only to the Abraham 
family and to my community in Butler, Pennsylvania, but to all of us, 
and to know that there are people out there who were willing to do 
these things, who were willing to sacrifice themselves. After being 
rescued--12,000 Americans were captured; he was 1 of 513 who survived. 
There were 12,000 who were captured, and 513 survived. The loss of 
life, the loss of future, the loss of enjoying a family--everything 
that life has to offer was taken from those people.
  General MacArthur asked him: Abie, would you please stay and find 
those remains and dig them up so that you can bring some peace and 
comfort to those who died? Mrs. Abraham said Mr. Abraham would pray 
every night that the Lord would give him the strength to go out the 
next day because it was so horrible. He was digging up the remains, not 
of some people he didn't know, but of people who had actually been 
captured, of people he had marched with, of people he had tried to help 
get through this horrible time who had passed. His whole purpose in 
life was to bring peace to families, to bring peace to veterans, and to 
let them know how much he cared for them.

  As a grateful country, we now have the opportunity to name a 
healthcare center after Sergeant Abie Abraham. He is truly somebody who 
befits the often said statement that there is only one office higher in 
our country than President, and that is that of patriot--not 
Republican, not Democrat, not Libertarian--patriot, American patriot. 
He was a man who loved peace and deplored the horrors of war but who 
never, ever tired in his service to his fellow servicemen, and he 
never, ever gave up. I can tell you, to his last day, Mr. Abraham 
thought about one thing every day, and that was about our men and women 
in uniform who gave their lives that this country--our country--could 
survive.
  Do you know what? I know Mr. Abraham is looking down right now, and 
he is so happy that this facility is being named after him so that, for 
all time, he will be remembered.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support 
H.R. 5317.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As a fellow veteran, I can't think of anything that I would rather be 
doing this afternoon than naming this VA center for this incredible 
American hero. Once again, I encourage all of the Members to support 
this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 5317, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________