[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2481-S2482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MEMORIAL DAY

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to pay special tribute to 
the veterans throughout Michigan's history who have given their lives 
while serving our country. Whether they served in the Civil War or the 
Korean war, in the Middle East or the South Pacific, we owe these 
heroes so much.
  Aleda E. Lutz is one of those heroes. She grew up in a large family; 
she was the youngest of 10 children--and her parents were immigrants 
from Germany. She graduated from Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw and 
the Saginaw General Hospital School of Nursing. When World War II broke 
out, Lutz felt called to serve her Nation.
  She enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps in 1942 and began working as a 
general duty nurse at Selfridge Field. When she had the opportunity to 
become a flight nurse, she signed up. It wasn't easy; it required a lot 
of training. But Lutz, known as ``Lutzy'' to her friends, was smart, 
determined, and extraordinarily brave. She made the cut and joined the 
elite 2 percent of World War II nurses qualified as flight nurses. She 
was promoted to first lieutenant and transferred to the 802nd Medical 
Air Evacuation Transport Squadron, which soon deployed to North Africa.
  Lutz transported more than 3,500 patients from the frontlines while 
earning six battle stars. She was known for her professional skill and 
her courage under fire. During her 196th mission, her C-47 plane 
crashed while carrying 15 wounded soldiers. There were no survivors. 
Lutz is known to be the first military woman to die in a combat zone 
during World War II.
  Lutz is one of the most highly decorated women in American military 
history. She was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal 
with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart. An 800-patient 
hospital ship was named in her honor, as was a C-47 cargo plane. And in 
1990, the Saginaw veterans hospital, long known by her name, was 
officially rededicated as the Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center. It remains a fitting memorial to honor a nurse 
who gave her life while serving her country.
  Not all veterans have had to give as much for their country as Aleda 
Lutz did, but all of them are willing to. It is what sets them apart. 
It is what makes them heroes.
  This Memorial Day, we honor 1LT. Aleda E. Lutz and all of the 
Michigan

[[Page S2482]]

veterans who gave their lives in service to our country, and we thank 
our veterans who are still with us, as well as their families. Their 
courage, selflessness, and sacrifice bring honor to our State and our 
Nation.

                          ____________________