[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 128 (Friday, July 28, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF IRV HOLLAND

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2017

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of 
Mr. Irwin Holland. Irv Holland was a brave and courageous man who 
served our country in a multitude of ways and will forever be 
remembered as a member of one of the great generations.
  Mr. Holland was born in 1917, eldest child to first generation 
immigrants. He grew up in New York where he graduated high school and 
attended night school but never graduated with a college degree. In 
1943, he joined the United States Army Air Corps, and became an Army 
Air Corps navigator, eventually reaching the rank of Second Lieutenant. 
In the midst of World War II, and on his maiden mission, the 
navigational instruments on his B-17 failed. In the dark and over the 
ocean Mr. Holland led three B-17 airplanes to the Ashen Islands where 
they landed safely. After taking off from the Ashen Islands they 
continued to the European Theater and in June 1943 he and several other 
crew members were shot down over Germany. Irv bailed out and was taken 
as a prisoner of war. He was a prisoner of war from June 13, 1943 to 
May 22, 1945, and endured difficult conditions in camp Stalag Luft 3--
Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria, eventually moving to Nuremberg, Germany. Mr. 
Holland was liberated by the Americans at the end of the war.
  After his release in 1945 from Prisoner of War Camp, he returned to 
the U.S. and shortly afterwards traveled to the west coast to begin a 
new chapter in his life. In 1947, he met and married Barbara Donner 
Schwartz and soon became the father of three.
  ``Irv'' and Barbara moved to Fresno in 1952 from the Bay Area and Irv 
established the Irwin Holland Advertising Agency. He was a community 
minded individual with involvements in the civil rights movement, 
community education and the Jewish community, but politics was his real 
love and passion. Irwin Holland was a political animal and felt a 
commitment to participate and improve his community. With that in mind, 
he ran for several political offices in the San Joaquin Valley as well 
as becoming the advance man for every National Democratic Candidate who 
traveled the Central Valley from the mid '50's to the end of the 
1970's, including John F. Kennedy (before his presidency), Sen. Robert 
F. Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, Pierre Salinger, Humbert Humphrey, and 
others.
  All during this time he was active in the Fresno Democratic Central 
Committee. From 1962 to 1970 he served as Administrative Assistant for 
former California State Assemblyman and Senator George Zenovich and in 
1974 Irv was named District Director for former U.S. Congressman John 
Krebs, serving at his pleasure for the two terms that Mr. Krebs was in 
office.
  In 1979, following a dream, Irwin and Barbara moved to Jerusalem, 
Israel. Once they became established in Israel, Irv worked as a 
freelance writer, writing articles about his experiences in Israel for 
the McClatchy Newspapers. While adapting to a new country and language 
Irv continued his community involvement and was involved with the 
Americans and Canadians in Israel, Democrats Abroad, and the San 
Francisco Jewish Federation's Office in Jerusalem for several years.
  After fully retiring he began his ``personal campaign'' to provide 
``behind the scenes'' insights about politics in the region to his 
friends and family at home. He forever felt that connection between the 
place of his birth and his new home.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect that I ask my colleagues in the 
U.S. House of Representatives to recognize a mentor and a friend, Irv 
Holland. A gentleman, who felt the obligation to serve both his 
community and country of birth as well as his new-found home. He is 
survived by his wife of 69 years, Barbara, who still lives in Israel 
and their three children: Francine, Amy, and Robbie, their five 
grandchildren: David, Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and Naomi, and their four 
great-grandchildren: Ami, Ophir, Arbel, and Ella.

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