[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3003-S3004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING WILBURN K. ROSS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today I wish to remember a noble 
Kentuckian and a decorated World War II veteran, Wilburn K. Ross, who 
passed away on May 9, 2017, just days before his 95th birthday. A 
native of Strunk, KY, Ross was awarded the highest decoration in the 
U.S. military, the Medal of Honor.
  As a private, Ross gained national acclaim for his service in St. 
Jacques, France, on October 30, 1944. His company lost 55 of its 88 
members fighting a group of German mountain troops. Ross' light machine 
gun was about 10 yards ahead of his supporting riflemen. As intense 
enemy fire fell around him, Ross repelled the enemy through seven 
German attacks. When the next attack came, many of his supporting 
rifleman had run out of ammunition. As his Medal of Honor citation 
read, ``Pvt. Ross fought on virtually without assistance and, despite 
the fact that enemy grenadiers crawled to within 4 yards of his 
position in an effort to kill him with handgrenades, he again directed 
accurate and deadly fire on the

[[Page S3004]]

hostile force and hurled it back.'' During the 5 hours of fighting, 
Ross killed or wounded at least 58 Germans and saved his brothers in 
arms.
  Ross reenlisted in the Army to see action in Korea, serving another 
two decades. He retired from Active Duty in 1964 at the rank of master 
sergeant. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, ``[f]or conspicuous 
gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of 
duty.''
  Although he moved to DuPont, WA, after his retirement from the U.S. 
Army, Ross made a trip back to his hometown in Kentucky nearly every 
year on his birthday. In his own words, he enjoyed coming back to the 
Commonwealth because, ``[e]verybody here treats me well.''
  He turned down offers to make his life into a Hollywood film, but 
Ross has been memorialized on a U.S. Postal Service stamp and by a 
section of Kentucky Route 92 in his home county. In 2014, Ross was a 
member of the inaugural class admitted to the Kentucky Veterans Hall of 
Fame.
  Like so many other members of the Greatest Generation, Wilburn Ross 
answered the call to defend our Nation. Through his bravery and 
sacrifice, he helped secure freedom across the globe. The story of his 
courageous actions and selfless service will continue to be told, both 
in McCreary County and across the Commonwealth. Elaine and I send our 
condolences to his family and friends.

                          ____________________