[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1229-S1230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 514--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT DONALD
STRATTON BE REMEMBERED FOR A LIFETIME OF HEROISM AND SERVICE TO THE
UNITED STATES
Mr. GARDNER (for himself and Mr. Bennet) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
S. Res. 514
Whereas, on February 15, 2020, Donald Stratton, a veteran
of World War II and one of the last remaining survivors of
the attack on Pearl Harbor, passed away peacefully surrounded
by his loving family in Colorado Springs, Colorado;
Whereas, on December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor
lasted for approximately 5 hours, during which 2,403 members
of the United States Armed Forces were killed or mortally
wounded, 1,247 members of the United States Armed Forces were
wounded, and 57 civilians lost their lives;
Whereas, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Seaman First
Class Donald Stratton was one of 6 sailors trapped in the
control tower main mast after a massive explosion on the
U.S.S. Arizona;
Whereas Boatswain's Mate Second Class Joseph Leon George
saved the lives of Seaman First Class Donald Stratton, Seaman
First Class Harold Kuhn, Seaman First Class Russell Lott,
Gunner's Mate Third Class Earl Riner, Boatswain's Mate Second
Class Alvin Dvorak, and Fire Controlman Third Class Lauren
Bruner;
Whereas, despite suffering severe burns on more than 70
percent of his body and being medically discharged, Donald
Stratton later reenlisted in the United States Navy to
continue serving during World War II;
Whereas, after serving in the United States Armed Forces,
Donald Stratton committed his life to pursuing the posthumous
recognition of Joseph George with the award of a Bronze Star;
and
Whereas Donald Stratton exemplified the heroism and
selfless service of the members of the United States Armed
Forces: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) honors Donald Stratton for his lifelong commitment to
service to the United States and the example he set for
future generations; and
(2) remembers the men and women of the Greatest
Generation of the United States, including the few remaining
survivors of that generation.
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I come to the floor with somber news for
Colorado and our country. It is about a gentleman I have talked about
many times on this floor and across Colorado--Donald Stratton, a
veteran of World War II, who was on the USS Arizona on December 7,
1941. Our country has suffered a great loss this past week with Mr.
Stratton's passing.
A gallant man, Donald Stratton served his country, his family, and
our great State with honor, pride, and courage. He was the type of
person who only comes around once in a generation and was someone whom
I was lucky to have gotten to know and certainly proud to have worked
with. It is with great emotion that I come to the floor to share his
story once again. I am sure it will not be the last time, but it is
certainly the most personal time that I have ever shared this story.
Donald Stratton was born in a tiny town in Nebraska--Red Cloud--in
1922. Its population today is of 900 or so people. I didn't have a
chance to look up how big it was when he was born in 1922. I imagine it
may have been a little bit bigger. It has certainly faced the fate that
many rural communities in America have. It has seen times of growth and
times of loss. Certainly, the people of Red Cloud know they have lost a
great hero as well.
Donald Stratton wrote in his memoirs on December 6, 1941, as a young
Nebraskan sailor, that he felt like the luckiest boy from Red Cloud
because he was in an incredibly beautiful part of the world. In fact,
he wrote in his memoir that he was in the Navy, seeing the world, and
was stationed in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. He was
19, and his entire life stretched before him. That next morning,
December 7, 1941, would change forever Donald Stratton and his country.
In his book, he talked about that day, December 7, 1941. A little
after 5 a.m., he had awoken, on his cot, about an hour and a half
before sunrise.
He writes:
I stretched, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and folded up
my cot. I stored it in the incinerator room, then went below
to shower. After, I dressed for the day in the typical casual
clothes that sailors wore on Sundays--a clean pair of
pressed, white shorts and a white T-shirt, along with my
sailor's hat.
A few minutes later, a 5:30 reveille sounded over the intercom, and
the ship stirred to life, he talked about. Below decks, men tumbled out
of their hammocks and headed to the showers. A few hours later, at 7:55
that morning, after a Sunday morning breakfast, he heard airplanes and
bombs in the distance as the attacks on Pearl Harbor began. By 8:06--11
minutes later--two-thirds of his body would be engulfed in flames.
He was at his station, directing anti-aircraft guns, and trying his
best to fight off the surprise attack by the Japanese. At that moment,
a 1,700-pound armor-piercing bomb was dropped from 10,000 feet above
the USS Arizona. That bomb came crashing down through four steel decks,
where it reached the ammunition magazine, causing a series of
explosions and shooting a fireball 500 to 600 feet in the air,
engulfing Donald Stratton and his shipmates in even more flames.
That Sunday morning of December 7, aboard the USS Arizona, were 1,512
officers, sailors, and marines. The attack that day--that 1,700-pound
bomb and so many others--killed 1,177. Only 335 brave people survived
that morning. Donald Stratton was one of those 335 sailors. His story
of survival happened because of a sailor who was stationed next to the
USS Arizona on a ship called the Vestal. He was a sailor by the name of
Joe George.
[[Page S1230]]
On that morning, as they were trying to fight back, they had been
trapped in their tower. Donald Stratton and five of his other shipmates
were burning--trapped on that tower--as the ship was going down. Joe
George, a sailor aboard the Vestal, saw them and saw what was
happening. He tried many times to throw a rope over to the USS Arizona
to provide help. Finally, he succeeded. Out of the smoke and out of the
flames, a lifeline from Joe George to that tower was seen, and they
were able to affix it to the tower. Miraculously, Donald Stratton and
these other sailors were able to shimmy across the rope, over the
burning water, to safety on the Vestal. Despite their terrible wounds,
they made it to the Vestal.
This story led to an incredible fight again by Donald Stratton. After
he spent a year recovering from the burns that were over almost all of
his body, he told his parents that he couldn't just abandon the fight,
that he couldn't abandon his country, that he had to go back to duty.
With that, he went back into service for his country. But the fight
Donald Stratton gave for this country and for his fellow sailors didn't
stop there. After he served in the Navy, after he left it, he knew he
had to spend the rest of his life fighting for the man who saved his
life and his fellow shipmates.
It wasn't like people left the ship at the end of the day on December
7 to go back to the office and fill out reports and say: Well, it was a
busy day at the office. These things happen.
America was at war. Thousands of lives had been lost. In the fire, in
the smoke, and in the fight, what Joe George had done for Donald
Stratton and those other brave sailors was lost for that time. Donald
Stratton went back into service. He went back into the fight. He spent
the rest of his life trying to find the man who saved his life. He
spent a decade-plus looking for Joe George, finding out who he was.
After he found out who he was, he spent 16 years fighting the Navy so
that Joe George would be recognized for his heroic actions.
Donald Stratton went to the Arizona Legislature, and he went to the
Colorado Legislature. They passed resolutions asking that Joe George be
recognized for his acts of bravery and his courage.
He then came to this Congress. Lauren Bruner, Donald Stratton, and
the other members who survived the USS Arizona--the remaining few of
the USS Arizona--came to the Senate and said: As fewer and fewer of us
are able to celebrate and to commemorate December 7 each and every
year, would you please celebrate one more life--Joe George's? On
December 7, 2017, the Navy recognized Joe George with the Bronze Star
and the ``V'' for valor device.
I have a picture of Donald Stratton as he said goodbye one more time
to his fellow shipmates on December 7, 2017. He thanked Joe George for
saving his life and probably never fully understood why his mission
didn't end that day while so many others' missions did, but thank God
he was able to continue the fight for this country.
While Donald Stratton was on the brink of death, he knew he had to
get back into the fight, and he did. He went back into the Pacific
theater.
He wrote in his book:
Though I may have left Pearl Harbor on a stretcher, I had
returned on a destroyer. I had recovered my strength, as had
my country. I was ready to meet what was coming, and I had a
boatload of reinforcements with me.
Donald Stratton came back, fighting for our country and fighting for
the man who saved his life.
He wrote in his memoir that, in life, the only question that matters
is ``Have I lived a good life?'' He wrote that he wonders if he will be
remembered when he is gone. He wonders who will remember him and why.
Please know that we will remember you eternally and your family for
what you have done for this country.
I introduce a resolution to recognize and remember Donald Stratton's
life because there are only a few remaining brave men and women who
survived that day, who survived that war, who fought for us so many
years ago. I hope all of my colleagues will support it so that this
American hero and his incredible life can be remembered by our Nation
forever.
The first time I met Donald Stratton, he told me his story. He told
me what he had done. He told me how he and his wife had met and how he
had gone back into the fight after receiving such severe burns that his
wife used to take a bristle brush to them to help his skin feel better.
I asked how he did it and said: Mr. Stratton, I am pretty sure I
never could have done what you did.
In his kind of ``ah, shucks'' demeanor from Red Cloud, NE, he said:
``Well, Cory, everyone has to be somewhere.''
It was not the response I thought I was going to get, but everybody
does have to be somewhere. Thank God Donald Stratton was on that boat
on December 7, 1941. Thank God Joe George was on that boat on December
7, 1941. Thank God that rope was thrown over to the tower to save his
life. Thank God Donald Stratton returned to the fight to stand up for
this country, to continue his fight for Joe George, and to have an
incredible family who continues to share in his legacy today.
Thank God for all of them. Thank God for all of the men and women who
were there that day and what they have been able to do to fight for
this country, to stand for this country, to pay back the blessings of
this country as we must fight each and every day to pay back the
blessings they so generously bestowed upon this Nation when they stood
up, because they were there.
We know that Donald Stratton has joined his fellow shipmates. That
reveille at the Pearly Gates must be quite spectacular. He passed away
at his home in Colorado Springs on February 15, at the age of 97, next
to his beloved wife. He joins Lauren Bruner, another survivor of that
morning on the USS Arizona, who came to my office to fight with him for
Joe George--Bruner, a shipmate who passed away on September 10 of last
year and who was interred in the USS Arizona this past December 7 on
the 78th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. I pray that they all
rest in peace as they join their family in arms.
This Saturday, the community of Colorado Springs and our State will
hold a memorial service for Donald Stratton when he will be lain in his
final resting place next to his daughters in Nebraska. As we say
goodbye to this hero, let us all do it with thanks to Donald Stratton
and to the two remaining survivors of the USS Arizona today, Lou Conter
and Ken Potts.
To every brave man and woman who serves our country, we are eternally
grateful.
I am going to miss him.
____________________