[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 176 (Friday, November 2, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1488-E1489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF MR. FIRMAN BALZA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MIKE GALLAGHER

                              of wisconsin

                  in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 2, 2018

  Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of the life, 
legacy, and service of Green Bay native, Mr. Firman Balza.
  Mr. Firman Balza was one of America's last surviving servicemen from 
the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. Answering the call from his 
country, Firman signed up for the 34th Division of the U.S. Naval 
Reserves in Green Bay in 1940 at the age of 17. He entered the Navy a 
few months later and was assigned to the USS Maryland in April of 1941. 
The USS Maryland would leave for Pearl Harbor in July of 1941; Firman 
was aboard the vessel as a gunner's mate first-class at the time of the 
attacks.
  The morning of December 7, 1941, Firman was preparing for Mass when 
he saw the first Japanese bombers flying overhead. Mass that morning 
would have been aboard the USS Oklahoma. The USS Oklahoma was moored 
next to the USS Maryland in the harbor when it suffered major damage 
and capsized. Firman bravely ran into the face of danger and took up 
arms as he defended the base with anti-aircraft guns. He later helped 
pull his deceased brothers-in-arms from the sunken ship. Four hundred-
sixty men perished on the Oklahoma that day, and the Maryland lost 
five.
  During the four days following the attacks, Firman and his fellow 
soldiers rescued 32 men from the hull of the Oklahoma. Firman continued 
his brave service to the country for three years on the USS Maryland 
participating in Guadalcanal, the Battle of Tarawa, and the Battle of 
Kwajalein Atoll. After the war, Firman was assigned to the USS Bayfield 
APA 33 and was sent to the Marshall Islands for atomic bomb tests at 
Bikini Atoll. On February 7, 1947, he was discharged from the Navy 
after six years and seven days on active duty.
  Firman was one of more than 16 million ordinary people who did 
extraordinary acts during World War II. His willingness to begin 
sharing his story in 2003 at the age of 80 allowed many across 
Wisconsin, including students across northeast Wisconsin, to hear his 
account of that day. It was in 2003 that he first visited the Punch 
Bowl Cemetery in Hawaii and realized he wanted to be a voice to tell 
part of the story of those 2,335 servicemen and women who perished on 
that day of infamy. If Firman left one message with all he spoke to, it 
was ``Truly, man has got to learn to get along with each other.''
  Mr. Balza was 95 when he passed away on October 10, 2018. He was born 
September 25, 1923, to Theophile and Mary Balza, the

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youngest of 11 sons. On April 23, 1949, he married Nathalie M. 
Larscheid. He was a true lover of the outdoors; he enjoyed camping with 
his family and hunting and fishing with his brother-in-law, Carlton 
Larscheid. He was very proud of becoming a licensed pilot at the age of 
63.
  Words cannot justly thank Mr. Balza for his many years of service to 
our country. A treasure for a community and nation Mr. Balza cannot be 
replaced. May his service, dedication, and sacrifice be remembered by a 
grateful nation and all who knew him.

                          ____________________