[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEART SHIELD BIBLE

  (Ms. TENNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Rick Mansfield, an 
airman in the U.S. Air Force and Vietnam veteran from the town of 
Vienna in Oneida County. He recently gave me a World War II artifact 
belonging to Sergeant Joseph J. Benenati. It is called a Heart Shield 
Bible, and I have it in my hand.
  These are now fading from use, and this particular one is very faded. 
It has a gold-leaf steel cover with the words ``God's Weapon'' engraved 
on the front.
  Sergeant Benenati was a New York State police officer and U.S. marine 
who served in the Pacific theater, and he was the Chenango County 
sheriff in my district for 21 years. Sadly, in 2011, at the age of 97, 
Sergeant Benenati passed away.
  Sergeant Benenati's Heart Shield Bible is one that was given to World 
War II soldiers by their loved ones to protect them in battle. These 
Bibles were designed to fit securely in the chest pocket of a soldier's 
uniform. The metal plates were securely attached to the front cover of 
the Bible to stop a bullet from reaching the soldier's heart.
  I would like to thank Rick Mansfield for giving me this truly 
invaluable piece of history. I would also like to extend my sincere 
appreciation to former airman Rick Mansfield as well as Sergeant Joseph 
Benenati for their honorable service to our great Nation.

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