[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 176 (Friday, November 2, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1491-E1492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRUE HERO: SPECIALIST FIFTH CLASS CLARENCE E. SASSER

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                  in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 2, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor the 
heroism of Specialist Fifth Class Clarence E. Sasser of the United 
States Army. Specialist Fifth Class Clarence E. Sasser was a private in 
the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division when 
he earned the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, 
for his selfless and courageous acts on January 10, 1968, during the 
Vietnam War. As a combat medic in Vietnam, Specialist Sasser served our 
country above and beyond the call of duty. He is a hero among us.
  Clarence Eugene Sasser was born in 1947 in Chenango, Texas. Sasser 
was studying chemistry as a part-time student at the University of 
Houston when he was drafted in 1967. Sasser completed a ten week course 
at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio to be a medical aid man. The 20 year 
old went to Vietnam in September 1967, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 
60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. The division was sent to 
the Mekong Delta, in southwestern Vietnam.
  As the medic for 1st Platoon, Company A, Sasser would accompany the 
unit when it left base camp to go on patrols, missions or nighttime 
ambushes. On January 10, 1968, what Sasser considers ``the longest day 
of his life'',

[[Page E1492]]

his company was on the third day of their search and destroy mission 
when Company A was sent out in 12 helicopters to a large, flooded rice 
paddy. The lead helicopter was hit with enemy fire and crashed, so the 
rest landed. More than 30 Americans were either immediately killed or 
wounded. Upon stepping off the helicopter, Sasser was shot through his 
right leg.
  Since the rice paddy was flooded with mud and water, Sasser found it 
easier to grab tufts of grass and rice plants to pull himself and glide 
through the paddy to render medical aid. It was faster than trying to 
walk, and being low made him less exposed to enemy fire. Sasser pulled 
one man to safety near an embankment that provided some cover and was 
going back when mortar fire landed about five feet from him, and 
shrapnel struck his back and left side just as he reached cover. 
Despite these injuries in addition to his legs being immobilized from 
injury, Sasser continued sliding through the rice paddy to answer 
fallen infantry soldiers calling for ``Doc''.
  Into the afternoon and through the night, Sasser treated injuries 
until his supplies ran out, then continued going to soldiers calling 
for help when all he could offer was emotional support. Army 
helicopters were finally able to come into the area and the platoons 
were evacuated about 4 a.m., 18 hours after they first arrived in the 
rice paddy.
  President Richard Nixon presented 21 year old Sasser with the Medal 
of Honor on March 7, 1969, ``for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity 
in actjon at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,'' 
according to the medal citation. ``It's confirmation to me that I did 
my job. And that's how I had to deal with it,'' Sasser said in an 
interview in 2011. ``It was my job, and I don't think what I did was 
above and beyond. I never have.''
  Following his military service, he attended Texas A&M University on a 
scholarship offered by then President James Earl Rudder in August 1969. 
After attending Texas A&M, he began working at an oil refinery for more 
than five years before going on to work at the United States Department 
of Veterans Affairs to continue to serve his country. On November 7, 
2013, he was the eighth Texas Aggie to be added to Texas A&M 
University's Medal of Honor Hall of Honor. During his speech at the 
ceremony, Sasser said ``I am particularly proud that my Medal of Honor 
is for saving lives and not taking lives.''
  Specialist Sasser is also honored at the Brazoria County Courthouse 
in Angleton, Texas for his outstanding bravery. On Veterans' day 2010, 
he was memorialized into the 40 foot ``Ring of Honor'' with a life-size 
portrait bronze sculpture of Sasser in a crouched run, carrying his 
medic bag while in action.
  Of the 246 Medals of Honor awarded during the Vietnam War, 20 were 
given to black servicemen. Of the 53 Vietnam War-era recipients still 
living, Sasser is the only black veteran.
  Mr. Speaker, we continue to honor Specialist Sasser for his sacrifice 
and heroic efforts. He is a true warrior who went above and beyond, 
risking his own life to save others. We must ensure that our country's 
veterans are not forgotten and are given due recognition of their 
bravery and sacrifice.
  And that's just the way it is.

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