[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 173 (Tuesday, October 23, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                PRESERVING HISTORY: THE GREAT WORLD WAR

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 23, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the day was October 8, 1918, a century 
ago, when the events of the Meuse-Argonne offensive would be etched 
into history eternal. The largest operation of the American 
Expeditionary Forces (AEFs) was taking place with over one million 
American doughboys deployed.
  Soldiers were tasked with a dangerous mission, penetrating the 
Argonne Forest, which was a force in itself to be reckoned with. Thick 
vegetation, jagged hills, and the entrenchment of German forces made 
this the single deadliest battle in American history. 125,000 American 
casualties were sustained, with over 26,000 deaths.
  What was to be the final Allied push against German forces on the 
Western Front, October 8th proved to be a day that would always be 
remembered by all the nations that participated in the War.
  United States Corporal Alvin C. York was in small squadron of about 
20 fellow Americans, just boys really, a world away from home. Their 
task was to take German-held positions. The geography made this 
objective a difficult one, but York along with his men knew what had to 
be done.
  Following orders, the group advanced, but was fired upon from a nest 
at the top of a nearby hill. The German gunners cut down nine men, 
including a superior officer, leaving York in charge of the squad.
  Now in charge, and with little to no time to regroup, he fought to 
avenge the lives of the fellow soldiers that lost their lives. After it 
was all said and done, York successfully took the position while taking 
down 20 German soldiers, as well as taking 132 German prisoners. His 
honorable service in this battle earned him the Congressional Medal of 
Honor.
  York described the events in his diary: ``Those machine guns were 
spitting fire and cutting down the undergrowth all around me something 
awful. . . . I didn't have time to dodge behind a tree or dive into the 
brush, I didn't even have time to kneel or lie down. . . .
  As soon as the machine guns opened fire on me, I began to exchange 
shots with them. In order to sight me or to swing their machine guns on 
me, the Germans had to show their heads above the trench, and every 
time I saw a head I just touched it off. All the time I kept yelling at 
them to come down. I didn't want to kill any more than I had to. But it 
was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had.''
  The ``best he had'' was more than enough. The German commander, 
thinking he was grossly outnumbered, surrendered his garrison of nearly 
90 men. Like many men of his time, York never made much of his 
accomplishments of that day, but his heroic actions did not go 
unnoticed. Promoted to the rank of sergeant, he remained on the front 
lines until November 1, ten days before the armistice.
  The New York Times called York ``the war's biggest hero.'' General 
John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), 
called him ``the greatest civilian soldier'' of World War I. The 
American doughboy born in a log cabin near the Tennessee-Kentucky 
border became an American hero and his actions became the basis for the 
iconic movie, Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper. Upon York's death in 
1964, President Lyndon Johnson called him ``a symbol of American 
courage and sacrifice'' who epitomized ``the gallantry of American 
fighting men and their sacrifices on behalf of freedom.''
  As we honor the 100-year anniversary for the Great World War, let us 
not forget the more than two million Americans that crossed the 
Atlantic to fight for freedom in Europe, and the 116,000 of them that 
never came home. One such soldier that answered the call was my friend, 
Frank Buckles. Frank died in 2011; he was the last living link to the 
story of the American Doughboy.
  I introduced the Frank Buckles WWI Memorial Act, to restore the local 
DC memorial and to recognize the service and sacrifice of all the men 
and women that served in the Great World War. Finally, after 100 years 
a memorial will finally be built in the nation's capital for all of 
those who fought in the Great War. I was honored to work with my 
colleague, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri in a bipartisan way to make 
sure that Congress did its part in authorizing the construction of the 
World War I Memorial on our National Mall.
  I often talk about those of our Greatest Generation, but without the 
fathers from the Great World War, the Doughboys, the Frank Buckles--the 
rest wouldn't be possible. America goes to war to free, to liberate, to 
protect, and to bring justice to bear. We owe it to them and our future 
generations to honor our veterans in our nation's capital. Because, the 
greatest tragedy of war is to be forgotten.
  And that's just the way it is.

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