[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 57 (Friday, March 26, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E302-E303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN RECOGNITION OF EDWARD GAZEL'S 100TH BIRTHDAY

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                          HON. DEBBIE DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 26, 2021

  Mrs. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Edward Gazel 
of Lincoln Park on the occasion of his 100th birthday. His 
contributions to our community and to our nation are worthy of 
commendation.
  Mr. Gazel was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and is a 1939 
graduate of Detroit Northwestern High School. During the Great 
Depression he earned money working at the Detroit Golf Club, caddying 
for Michigan sports legends like Coach Harry Kipke and Detroit Tiger 
Mickey Cochrane. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he volunteered for 
the Marine Corps.
  He was sent to San Diego, California for boot camp and was then 
assigned to a medium tank unit of the Second Tank battalion, Second 
Marine Division. The stories of his service are numerous and detailed 
and cannot only be shared in one short speech. His unit saw action at 
Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. After the Japanese surrendered, 
his unit was assigned to maintain order at the scene of the second 
atomic bombing in Nagasaki. He often remembers his fellow Marines who 
lost their lives in combat and is the last surviving member of his 
unit. Mr. Gazel was awarded the Bronze Star for his gallantry at 
Tinian.
  After his return to the United States in December 1945 and his 
discharge from the armed forces in January 1946 he returned to civilian 
life, marrying Esther the same year. Together they had three girls and 
Mr. Gazel found his success in selling wholesale produce in Detroit. A 
true patriot and a decorated Marine, he is known to insist that ``the 
real heroes are those who fell in combat and rest under those markers 
on far away and sometimes forgotten battlefields.''
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Edward 
Gazel on his 100th

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birthday. He has honorably served this country through his exemplary 
military service during World War II. I join with Mr. Gazel's family 
and friends in extending my best wishes to him on his birthday.

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