[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 65 (Thursday, April 15, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E399-E400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING WWII VETERAN LEONARD CROFFORD ON HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MIKE BOST

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 15, 2021

  Mr. BOST. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Leonard Crofford, 
who turns 100 years old today. Born on April 15th, 1921 and raised in 
Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Leonard met the love of his life, Rosaline 
(Rosie), when he was 15, and they got married shortly before he joined 
the Navy two years later. He first served in the U.S. Navy at Wheeler 
Army Airfield near Pearl Harbor in 1939. Leonard was just 15 miles away 
when Japan launched its December 7, 1941 attack on the base, throwing 
him from his bunk due to the aftershock from a bomb blast. Two years 
later, he joined the U.S. Army, spending most of his service overseas 
as a mechanic and teaching other soldiers how to repair tanks. In 1945, 
he was honorably discharged as a Master Sergeant. On October 6, 1945, 
Leonard married Rosie in Hammond, Indiana; and together they raised 
five children: Ronnie, Leonard, Diane, Connie, and Sharon. Forty years 
ago, Leonard and Rosie moved to Thompsonville, Illinois, spending the 
remainder of their remarkable 75-year marriage together, until Rosie 
passed away at the age of 97 on February 22, 2020. Leonard has carried 
on the traditions they shared, like attending Parish Church and 
gardening. Every

[[Page E400]]

year he tends to a strawberry garden that he shares with family and 
friends. He is very much loved by his children and grandchildren and 
supported by the congregation of his church.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring Leonard Crofford of 
Thompsonville on his milestone 100th birthday. I thank him for his 
service and wish him a happy birthday.

                          ____________________