[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 202 (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1686-E1687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE HONORING OF DR. CHARLES P. NEIMEYER, U.S. MARINE CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. WALTER B. JONES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 12, 2017

  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today and pay tribute to 
Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer. A great American, Dr. Neimeyer will be 
retiring from Federal Service this month after serving 11 years as the 
Director and Chief of Marine Corps History, Quantico, Virginia. Prior 
to his time at Quantico, Dr. Neimeyer had an accomplished career as the 
Dean of Academics at the Naval War College, Forrest Sherman Chair of 
Public Diplomacy in Newport, Rhode Island, and the former Vice 
President of Academic Affairs at Valley Forge Military Academy and 
College. During his 20 year career as a military officer in the U.S. 
Marine Corps, Dr. Neimeyer served in a variety of posts and stations, 
including tours in all three active U.S. Marine Divisions and service 
at the White House under Presidents George H.W. Bush and William J. 
Clinton. He retired from active duty at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel 
in 1996.
  Dr. Neimeyer is a graduate of the University of Maryland and 
successfully earned distinguished graduate degrees from Georgetown 
University and the U.S. Naval War College.

[[Page E1687]]

He is the author of a variety of historical monographs and countless 
national security affairs articles. His most recent work, War in the 
Chesapeake: The British Campaigns to Control the Bay, 1813-1814, was 
published by the U.S. Naval Institute in 2015, and went on to win the 
prestigious Simmons-Shaw award in 2017 given by the Marine Corps 
Heritage Foundation for the best scholarly work by a federal historian.
  Dr. Neimeyer's service as the Director of the Marine Corps History 
Division has been marked with great success. During his tenure, he was 
able to increase the historical output of his division by over 1000 
percent. He also reorganized the division's branches and sent 
historians ``down range'' to cover the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
thereby ensuring the preservation of the critical operational history 
of our nation's foremost fighting service, the United States Marine 
Corps.
  In addition, Dr. Neimeyer established the Marine Corps University 
Journal at Quantico. This journal now publishes cutting edge 
scholarships and work from students, faculty, and outside authors. The 
journal is leading the way toward a greater understanding of today's 
complex national security strategies. Because of these endeavors, Dr. 
Neimeyer's historical expertise on the United States Marine Corps has 
been sought out over the years by senior level officials in both the 
public and private sectors.
  Most recently, Dr. Neimeyer served as a member of the board of 
inquiry that reevaluated the Marines we formerly believed to have been 
Iwo Jima flag raisers on February 23, 1945. Thanks to the 
professionalism of Dr. Neimeyer, and the other board members, the 
Marine Corps and the nation now know the identities of the actual flag 
raisers on top of Mount Suribachi on that fateful day. As a result of 
this experience, Dr. Neimeyer volunteered to serve as the staff 
historian for the Iwo Jima Association of America--a veteran's 
organization dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of the 
Battle of Iwo Jima.
  I would like to express my sincere gratitude for Dr. Neimeyer's 
service both as a Marine officer and as the Chief of Marine Corps 
History. Over the past several years, Dr. Neimeyer provided invaluable 
and relevant historical information to my office. His timely data was 
always on target and nothing short of the exceptional quality I would 
expect from the chief historian of the United States Marine Corps. I am 
very appreciative of Dr. Neimeyer's service to our nation and thankful 
for the outstanding support his wife, Janet Louise, daughter, Kelli 
Klein, and two sons, Patrick and Christopher, gave him throughout his 
life. I want to thank Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer once again for his 20 
years of service as an active duty Marine, and 17 years as a federal 
civil servant. I wish his beloved family fair winds and following seas 
as he and his wife embark on a new chapter in life.

                          ____________________