[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 117 (Friday, July 12, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E912-E913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING THE CAREER OF MELVIN L. MARKS

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                         HON. SALUD O. CARBAJAL

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 12, 2019

  Mr. CARBAJAL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the military 
service of World War II veteran Melvin L. Marks, a Santa Barbara city 
resident in my district, who turns 95 years old on July 10, 2019.
  Mel Marks was born in Des Moines IA in 1924, and enlisted in the U.S. 
Army in 1943. In his three years of service as an intelligence observer 
in the 124th Battalion, he participated in a number of notable 
campaigns, including the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Bulge. 
His service brought him to England, Holland, Belgium, and Germany, 
where he crossed the Rhine in March of 1945.
  Mel Marks is a member of the Greatest Generation, as journalist Tom 
Brokaw calls it, meaning the men and women who fought not to seek fame 
or recognition, but simply because it was the right thing to do.
  Of the more than 16 million who served in the United States Armed 
Forces during World

[[Page E913]]

War II, fewer than 500,000 are still with us today, and we're losing 
about 350 of them every day.
  After the war, Mel came to Chicago and married the former Mary 
Harris, who herself just turned 89, and the two of them have raised 
three children, have five grandchildren spread across the country, and 
will be celebrating their 69th wedding anniversary this Fall.
  Mel has had a distinguished career as a journalist, management and 
marketing consultant, and published author. One of his best-known books 
is ``Yesterday's Warriors,'' which recounts his experiences in the War 
and his band of brothers who remained friends for a lifetime.
  It is with particular pride that we recognize the service and 
wonderful life of a veteran who is not just still with us, but alive 
and kicking.

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