[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





            IN RECOGNITION OF JOSEPH WALSH'S 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE LEVIN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 2019

  Mr. LEVIN of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
100th birthday of veteran, father, husband, and friend to many, Joseph 
Walsh.
   Joe was born on March 18, 1919 in East Orange, New Jersey. After 
graduating from high school, Joe was inspired by a family friend's 
stories of World War I to enlist in the Marines in April 1938.
   Joe was serving in the Marine Corps' Third Defense Battalion at the 
Navy Yard in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, one of the most pivotal 
days in American history. Joe was attending a morning color guard 
ceremony when the attack began. The next two hours were ``all 
confusion,'' as Joe characterizes it. His battalion fired anti-aircraft 
machine guns at the Japanese planes as they headed towards the Navy 
Yard.
   Joe never spoke about his experience at Pearl Harbor when his 
children were growing up. He is the last surviving member of the Pearl 
Harbor Survivor Association's North County Chapter 31 and served as the 
organization's president for many years. As President, Joe organized 
the annual memorial ceremony at Oceanside Harbor and campaigned for the 
installation of Oceanside's Pearl Harbor memorial monument in 2006.
   Joe met LaVonne ``Bea'' Phaneuf in 1945 at a friend's wedding. Many 
years later, Joe still remembers the baby blue dress Bea wore that 
night. Bea was one of 23,000 women who enlisted in the Marines during 
the war. She was a member of the Aviation Women's Reserve Squadron 21 
at Quantico, Virginia. Joe and Bea have been married since 1946 and 
have six children.
   As parents, Joe and Bea instilled values of telling the truth, 
respecting others, and taking care of those in need. Joe was always 
giving away things that others needed even when his family had very 
little. Joe can talk to anyone and somehow make them laugh.
   Joe Walsh has lived an incredible and full life. He is a true 
inspiration for our community, and we cannot thank him enough for his 
service to his country.
   Joe Walsh will be celebrating his birthday on March 18 with friends 
and family in Vista, California. I am honored to pay tribute to Joe, 
and I wish him a very happy 100th birthday.

                          ____________________