[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 81 (Thursday, May 17, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E672]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PAYING TRIBUTE TO WORLD WAR II VETERAN PAUL ROSENBLATT ON HIS 95TH 
                                BIRTHDAY

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                           HON. BRADLEY BYRNE

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2018

  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to World War II veteran 
Paul Rosenblatt in honor of his 95th birthday.
  ``Mr. Paul,'' as he prefers to be called, is a Purple Heart recipient 
and the last remaining member of his unit, the 9th Armored Division. 
His unit successfully held the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, releasing 
Allied forces into Germany that ultimately led to Germany's defeat.
  Paul was born in Michigan in 1923 but raised in The Bronx, New York. 
After the death of his father, Paul began working at the age of 15. By 
1942, Paul was living and working in Dayton, Ohio for the U.S. Army 
engineering unit as an aircraft mechanic's assistant. As a vital member 
of the engineering team, his personnel officer urged him to resist 
joining the Army and remain in his current position. Despite the 
opposition, Paul answered the call to serve and enlisted in the Army, 
where he was sent overseas as a mechanic for the 9th Armored Division.
  After serving three years, Paul was discharged from the Army and 
returned to his position in Dayton. Here he met his wife, the late 
Millie Rosenblatt, who traveled with him throughout the country and 
world during his 43-year career as a civilian contractor with the Air 
Force. Paul, his wife, and their four children lived in Santa Maria, 
CA; Rapid City, SD; Laredo, TX; and abroad in Turkey, England and 
Israel.
  By the 1950's, Paul finally had the chance to fly. He knew each part 
of the aircrafts he worked on, but was never given the opportunity to 
go up in the air. In Laredo, Paul and a group of his friends bought a 
plane together and named themselves ``The Flying 20.''
  In addition to his work within the Army and Air Force, Paul is also a 
servant of his community. While living in Santa Maria, the Jewish 
community was holding services in basement of a Methodist church. 
Unsettled by this arrangement, Paul sought out a California Polytechnic 
Institute architecture student to design blueprints for a synagogue and 
launched a fundraising campaign. By 1969, Temple Beth El was 
constructed.
  Paul finished his career at his dream job working at the American 
embassy in Tel Aviv and retired in Haifa, Israel with Millie. After 63 
years of marriage, Millie passed away and two years later, Paul moved 
to Mobile, Alabama following a visit with his daughter, Shoshana, and 
her husband, Jake.
  In the past three years, Paul has embraced the Mobile culture. Paul 
rode on the World War II float in a Mardi Gras parade, attended every 
showing at the Mobile Jewish Film Festival, and held season tickets to 
the Mobile Symphony.
  For his 95th birthday, Paul celebrated accordingly by taking a trip 
to the air in a Stearman biplane, the same model he worked on as the 
mechanic's assistant before World War II. Family and friends gathered 
at the airway to celebrate this momentous occasion.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Alabama's First Congressional District, I 
want to commend Paul Rosenblatt for his service to our country and 
community. America is a better place because of Paul Rosenblatt, and we 
will be forever grateful for his service.

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