[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 194 (Thursday, December 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO EDWARD HALL

  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, today it is my honor to pay tribute to 
Edward Hall, an incredible 96-year-old Nevadan, whose story began when 
he answered the call to defend his country. Eighty years ago, in 1939, 
at the age of 16, Ed lied about his age to enlist in the Army Air Corps 
and began his military service to our great Nation. On December 7, 
1941, at just 18 years old, he found himself stationed at Hickam Field, 
Hawaii, working in the mess hall cleaning up and preparing for the day 
when he and his fellow troops heard an explosion. This was the 
beginning of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Ed, like many of 
the men on Hickam Field, stopped what he was doing to respond to this 
attack on the American Base. Without hesitation, Ed put his life on the 
line, joining in to rescue his fellow servicemembers injured in the 
ongoing attack. Along with an Army officer, Ed commandeered a truck and 
began driving around the flight line picking up the injured to move 
them to the base hospital in spite of coming into direct fire from 
Japanese aircraft. Upon returning from his third round of picking up 
the injured, Ed's truck was strafed by a Japanese Zero fighter and 
taken out of action, but Ed kept at it, as he knew helping the injured 
was his priority. As the bodies of the dead and injured continued to 
mount, Ed grabbed a .45-caliber pistol off one of his fallen comrades 
in order to have the means to defend himself from the attack as enemy 
planes buzzed the skies above him. He would go on to keep that pistol 
for the remainder of the war.
  As the attack on Pearl Harbor ended, the recovery of the base began 
as Ed and other survivors began dealing with the aftermath of the 
attack and preparing for our formal entry into World War II in the 
Pacific theater. Ed kept going, as many of the members of that 
``greatest generation'' did throughout World War II, embodying the 
American spirit of tenacity when faced with the greatest adversity, the 
spirit that eventually led to our success in defeating tyranny and 
enabling freedom across the world at the end of the Great War in 1945.
  Mr. President, to Edward Hall, I join citizens across Nevada and the 
Nation in sending our sincere gratitude to him for his service to the 
United States. It is heroes like Ed whose service has kept our 
communities, States, Nation, and world safe. His service during World 
War II, and the life he has led since are an incredible testament to 
resilience, and we are forever grateful.

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