[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2570-S2571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING SEAMAN SECOND CLASS HOWARD SCOTT MAGERS

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, during Memorial Day weekend in my home 
community, a fleet of cars will depart a local funeral home and make 
the 25-mile trip to Merry Oaks United Methodist Church Cemetery in 
neighboring Smiths Grove, KY. This will be the final leg of a journey 
that began over 6,000 miles and nearly 80 years ago.
  U.S. Navy Seaman 2nd Class Howard Scott Magers was one of the 429 
crew members who perished aboard the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941. 
Scott was 18 years old. The tragedy of his death was made ore 
unbearable because he was buried in a mass grave alongside those of his 
shipmates who were also unable to be identified.
  Thankfully, beginning in 2015, new dental, anthropological, and 
mitochondrial DNA analyses were employed to identify those who had 
fallen

[[Page S2571]]

at Pearl Harbor. As a result, the remains of Scott Magers will soon 
return to beautiful Barren County, KY where he grew up. Among those 
welcoming him home will be Betty Magers, who was only 11 when Scott 
said his goodbyes to family and friends and headed to basic training.
  As on every Memorial Day, we want to honor those men and women who 
have lost their lives in the service of their country in our Armed 
Forces. But today, we remember one very specific young man, Howard 
Scott Magers, and, on behalf of all the other fallen, say to him, 
``Welcome home. Fair winds and following seas.''

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