[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 22, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H4072-H4073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING 320TH BARRAGE BALLOON BATTALION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Veasey) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Memorial Day and 
the upcoming 75th anniversary of D-day to recognize and raise awareness 
about the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion. It was an all-Black 
battalion that made considerable contributions during D-day.
  Until recently, the 320th battalion's sacrifices and bravery have 
been virtually unrecognized. Until the recent book ``Forgotten: The 
Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War'' by Linda 
Hervieux, the story had really gone untold. People didn't really know 
about it.
  It is notable that one of the soldiers who is featured in the book--
his name is Wilson Monk--his quote to the author when she called him 
was, ``I've been waiting for this call for over 50 years.''
  When we look back at the social injustices of the 1940s during Jim 
Crow, it is clear that the social discrimination created momentum for 
the civil rights protests in the 1950s and 1960s. The lunch counter 
sit-ins in Montgomery and the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, the 
social injustices that

[[Page H4073]]

were in the news--sadly, always in the news--are documented very well 
in our textbooks, but much of the military discrimination against 
African Americans was not documented very well.
  I want to take a minute today to thank those African American 
soldiers who fought during World War II for their valor and sacrifice 
for our country.
  You may not have heard of the 320th battalion, but on the morning of 
June 6, 1944, the unit of African American soldiers landed on the 
beaches of France. Their orders were to man a curtain of armed balloons 
meant to deter enemy aircraft. They flew at an altitude of about 200 
feet to defend soldiers landing on the beaches against strafing attacks 
by German aircraft. The battalion served 140 days in France.
  One member of the 320th battalion wounded in battle, Waverly B. 
Woodson, Jr., would later be nominated for the Medal of Honor, an award 
he would never receive.
  The Nation's highest decorations were not given to African American 
soldiers in World War II. Members of the 320th battalion, the first 
African American battalion, which included hundreds of soldiers, were 
sent abroad to fight for liberties denied to them at home.
  The story of the 320th battalion is a narrative of perseverance in 
the face of injustice.
  Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to be invited by Representative 
Katherine Clark from Massachusetts to go hear the story of ``D-Day 
Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and 
Helped Win World War II'' by women who played a very crucial role in 
the military and spycraft that helped us during World War II. Of 
course, throughout time, much of their role was relegated to being said 
that they were secretaries and answered phones, but they played very 
critical roles.
  I know one of my former constituents who passed away not too long 
ago, Robert Starr, was part of an ambulatory crew that helped pick up 
the wounded and remains of people who were dead on the beaches of 
Normandy. Again, the story told was that African American soldiers 
worked in that role but that they were not part of the initial 
invasion.
  Sadly, that has been memorialized in Hollywood, as well. I think one 
of the best movies about D-day of all time is ``The Longest Day,'' a 
great, great movie. But, of course, there were no African American 
soldiers depicted in that movie. ``Saving Private Ryan,'' another great 
movie, but, again, no African American soldiers were depicted in that 
movie, sadly.
  It is my hope that we can raise more awareness about the 320th 
Barrage Balloon Battalion, these men who fought so bravely during World 
War II, so that they, too, will not just be memorialized in the 
textbooks but that their story will be brought to Hollywood.

  I am certain that there is a Rob Reiner or a Steven Spielberg or a 
Spike Lee or someone out there who will help tell the story of these 
women who fought during World War II and helped the resistance and also 
these African American soldiers whose stories have not been told.
  It is absolutely amazing to me that there are many African Americans 
in this country even who, if you ask them, they think that there were 
no Black soldiers who fought during D-day. It is a story that has been 
allowed to be falsely perpetuated for far too long. It is time that we 
raise awareness about the 320th battalion and the great sacrifices that 
they made for this country.

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