[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S5781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                    TRIBUTE TO LILIANE COUCKE SMITH

 Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I rise to recognize Mrs. 
Liliane Coucke Smith, a remarkable woman who served as a nurse during 
World War II and turns 100 on October 3.
  Born in Belgium, Mrs. Smith joined the Belgian Resistance at age 20. 
As a wartime nurse, she entered Germany alongside the advancing Allied 
Forces.
  Her outstanding commitment to serving others continued afterward, 
when she worked as part of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation 
Administration and the International Refugee Organization to help 
resettle over 10 million people displaced by the Second World War, 
including former slave laborers and concentration camp survivors. Mrs. 
Smith also oversaw the establishment of six refugee camps in the 
American occupation zone.
  While working as a French-English translator in Naples, she met her 
beloved husband, Dudley C. Smith, a U.S. Naval officer. The two split 
their time between Europe and the United States, before settling 
permanently in Groton Long Point, CT.
  Her tireless dedication to helping others in even the most arduous 
times is a credit to her generous spirit. A deeply considerate and 
unfailingly driven person, Mrs. Smith sets an inspiring model for all 
of us through her readiness to embrace new challenges and serve those 
in need. Her incredible legacy will be enduring.
  I applaud her many accomplishments and hope my colleagues will join 
me in congratulating Mrs. Liliane Couke Smith on this milestone of her 
100th birthday.

                          ____________________