[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING CPL. MORRIS D. LINK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 30, 2019

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to honor the life of an 
American hero, Corporal Morris D. Link, who is buried at the historic 
cemetery at St. Paul's Church in Mount Vernon, New York.
  A Mount Vernon native, Cpl. Link served in World War I with the 
legendary 369th Infantry, an all-black regiment known as the Harlem 
Hellfighters, and was killed in action, receiving the French War Cross. 
Early on the morning of July 15, 1918, the 369th came under heavy 
artillery bombardment, part of the Second Battle of the Marne, as the 
French struggled to hold off a German offensive. The shells fell with 
particular ferocity on the front-line trenches, which were held by Link 
and soldiers of the regiment's Company K. Cpl. Link was among four 
soldiers killed in the action. Link was one of 85 Mt. Vernon soldiers 
killed during World War I. The city planted trees in honor of each of 
the fallen, and the sapling commemorating Link was based on Wallace 
Avenue at the intersection with Westchester Avenue.
  Cpl. Link was one of the unit's earliest volunteers. He was born in 
North Carolina in 1883 and moved to Mount Vernon in the early 20th 
century where he lived with his wife Lizzie. Following his death in 
combat, Cpl. Link was interred in a French military cemetery, though 
three years later his remains were brought back to Mount Vernon for 
final burial. Cpl. Link's final resting place is memorialized with a 
veteran's stone.
  October 12th of this year marks the 100th Anniversary of Cpl. Link's 
reinternment into the Mount Vernon Saint Paul Cemetery. Madam Speaker, 
on this solemn occasion, I am privileged to honor the memory of Cpl. 
Morris Link and all of the veterans who served and lost their lives 
from Mount Vernon and throughout my district. We owe them an eternal 
debt.

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