[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MERLE DAVID HAY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to share some real Iowa 
history this morning.
  Merle David Hay from Glidden, IA, was the first Iowa serviceman to 
die in World War I. Hay enlisted on May 9, 1917, with his father's 
blessing, as he was too young to be drafted. He was assigned to the 1st 
Infantry Division, Company F.
  In the early hours of November 3, 1917, while posted in the trenches 
near the French village of Artois, the Imperial German Army attacked, 
and Merle Hay was killed. Hay's father said: ``I am proud of my boy if 
he has given up his life for his country.''
  Merle Hay Road in Des Moines, IA, is a constant memory of this 
person's sacrifice.
  I yield the floor.

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