[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 79 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF BRADFORD FREEMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TRENT KELLY

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 7, 2021

  Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate 
the life and service of Mr. Bradford Freeman, a member of the Greatest 
Generation and a true hero. He belonged to Company E, 506th Parachute 
Infantry Regiment under the 101st Airborne Division, also known as Easy 
Company. Their exploits were memorialized in the HBO mini-series ``Band 
of Brothers.''
  Mr. Freeman was born in Mississippi on September 4, 1924. He started 
his freshman year at Mississippi State University before enlisting in 
the Army in December of 1942. He finished his freshman year and 
reported in April 1943. He first reported to Camp Shelby, and then Fort 
McClellan for 13 weeks of basic training. He trained as a paratrooper 
at Fort Benning, Georgia. In North Carolina, he joined the 541st which 
evolved into the 101st.
  After midnight on D-Day, nineteen-year-old Freeman made his first 
combat jump. On June 5, 1944 he boarded a C-47, among a fleet of 87 
aircraft, and travelled across the English channel over Normandy. 
German antiaircrafts broke the soldier's silence. He jumped from the 
aircraft at 200 miles per hour, 100 miles per hour faster than normal 
jump speed. Freeman landed safely and was assigned to guard a 
crossroads near the Brecourt Manor farm, where the batallion would 
later take out four German artillery pieces. He heard Navy shells 
flying overhead towards targets further inland.
  Freeman served for two years, 11 months and 20 days in the United 
States Army and left the service as a private first class. He returned 
home to his family on December 2, 1945. He reunited with his childhood 
friend Willie Gurley, and the two were married in 1947. They had two 
daughters, Beverly Clark and Rebbecca Louis. After over 60 years of 
marriage, Willie passed away in 2008. After returning from war, Mr. 
Freeman returned to farming. He loved to hunt, fish, and sit on his 
front porch.
  I am deeply grateful for Bradford Freeman's lifetime of service to 
this country and the state of Mississippi. His sacrifices will never be 
forgotten, and his service always revered.

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