[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 8, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING FIRST SERGEANT DAVID H. QUINN

  Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, today I would like to honor the life of 
U.S. Marine Corps First Sergeant David H. Quinn of Temple, NH.
  In 1941, First Sergeant Quinn enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps 
Reserves. He would train at Parris Island, SC, and Quantico, VA, before 
being assigned to a newly created amphibious tractor battalion based in 
Dunedin, FL, which was preparing for war in the Pacific Theater.
  His unit brought him to San Diego, where he was promoted to first 
sergeant, and eventually to New Zealand for further training in 
amphibious assaults. It was there that he met Zoe Boeson, who was 
working to become a nurse. David and Zoe were married on June 28, 1943, 
just 4 months before his unit shipped out.
  In 1943, with Company C, 2nd Amphibious Tractor Battalion of the 2nd 
Marine Division, First Sergeant Quinn arrived on Betio in the Tarawa 
Atoll as part of Operation Galvanic. The island was critical to the 
U.S. island-hopping campaign and also to the Japanese, who used it as a 
base for attacking U.S. Forces in the Central Pacific.
  The marines successfully captured Betio, but 1,029 marines were 
killed and approximately 2,700 men wounded on what came to be known as 
bloody Tarawa. Among them was First Sergeant Quinn, who passed away on 
November 20, 1943. Though he and his new bride, Zoe, had spent just 4 
months together prior to his death, she later remarked that they 
enjoyed more happiness in those 4 months than most people find in a 
lifetime.
  Like many others, First Sergeant Quinn's remains were unidentified 
until 2016, when a DNA sample led to a positive match with his nieces. 
On May 4, 2018, nearly 75 years after his death, First Sergeant Quinn 
was reunited with his family and buried with full military honors back 
home in Temple, NH.
  Though this expression of gratitude is long overdue, we must never 
miss an opportunity to thank those men and women in uniform who have 
put their life on the line to keep us safe, secure, and free. We must 
never forget their sacrifice.
  I hope you will join me in honoring a brave Granite Stater, First 
Sergeant David Quinn. May he rest in peace.

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