[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF MR. KENNETH CASSIDY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 24, 2018

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor a special Kentuckian, 
Mr. Kenneth Cassidy from Bath County, Kentucky. Mr. Cassidy is a 
veteran of World War II.
  Mr. Cassidy grew up during the Depression. At the age of 19, he had a 
good job with the L & N Railroad as a signalman assistant. On December 
7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked and life changed for all Americans, 
including Cassidy. He was drafted in February of 1942, just prior to 
his 20th birthday. After training, he was shipped to Hawaii to rebuild 
communications that were destroyed when the Japanese bombed Pearl 
Harbor. After that, he was shipped to the Mariana Islands for 26 months 
of combat. He participated in the invasion of Saipan, the Philippines, 
and Okinawa. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Mr. Cassidy 
returned home to Bath County.
  After coming home, Mr. Cassidy married Birdie Bell Ball in 1953. Mr. 
Cassidy farmed, logged, built houses, operated heavy equipment, and 
worked as a mechanic. He also worked for the L & N Railroad and Avon 
and he owned and operated his own restaurant.
  Mr. Cassidy and the other men and women who served our country during 
World War II are true heroes. As members of the Greatest Generation, 
they bravely sacrificed to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy today. I 
am humbled to honor him before the United States Congress.

                          ____________________