[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 19, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E190-E191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING NATHAN FIRESTONE ON HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 19, 2019

  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Nathan 
Firestone, a resident of the Tenth District and a World War II era 
veteran prisoner of war on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
  Mr. Firestone entered the service in 1943 as a member of a B-24 
Liberator heavy bomber

[[Page E191]]

squadron. He flew 27 successful missions over Europe as an officer and 
navigator.
  In 1944, his bomber was shot down under heavy enemy fire, and Mr. 
Firestone sustained serious injuries. He and his crew spent six days 
wandering through the Austrian Alps before being captured by local 
police and taken to a Nazi POW camp near the German-Polish border. As a 
prisoner of war, Mr. Firestone persevered despite access to little 
food, adequate clothing, heat and other basic necessities.
  When his captors interrogated Mr. Firestone and asked him why he 
bombed Austria, he responded simply: ``Ich bin Juden (I am a Jew).''
  During a relocation march, Firestone and several other prisoners 
managed to escape and reunited several days later with American 
soldiers.
  After returning home to the United States in 1945, Mr. Firestone 
studied at Northwestern University and became a certified public 
accountant. He married, had children and raised his family in Highland 
Park. He suffered lifelong repercussions of his internment as a POW, 
seeking medical assistance from Hines VA Hospital near Chicago.
  He is an active member of the American Legion, Jewish War Veterans, 
and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He also published a nonfiction book in 
2002 about his experience in the war.
  As he celebrates his 100th birthday, it is my great honor and 
privilege to recognize Nathan Firestone for his service to our country 
during World War II and his deep involvement in our community.

                          ____________________