[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S2775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING FIREMAN SECOND CLASS MARTIN DAYMOND YOUNG

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, Navy Fireman 2nd Class Martin Daymond Young, 
born on May 11, 1920, was one of nine children who grew up in a busy 
household in the tiny Dukes community in Hancock County, KY. His family 
said their goodbyes when he enlisted in the Navy in the summer of 1940 
and he headed to the South Pacific--to Pearl Harbor.
  Sadly, Daymond Young was one of the 429 crew members who perished 
aboard the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941. He was 21 years old. The 
tragedy of his death was even more unbearable for his family because he 
was buried in a mass grave among scores of unidentified shipmates.
  His siblings and particularly his twin sister, Daisy, did all they 
could to keep his memory alive for their children, who remember a photo 
of Daymond in his Navy uniform that was always proudly displayed in her 
home. All of his nieces and nephews looked up to him even though most 
had never met him.
  Beginning in 2015, new dental, anthropologic and mitochondrial DNA 
analyses were employed to identify those who had fallen at Pearl 
Harbor, eventually certifying Daymond's remains in 2019. His family 
members wanted to bury him on what would have been his 100th birthday, 
May 11, 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic made travel and a public 
ceremony impossible. So, finally, on May 15, 2021, the remains of 
Daymond Young returned to beautiful Hancock County, KY, where he was 
buried alongside his ever-devoted sister Daisy. Among those welcoming 
him were his nephew, Layman Hawkins, of Lewisport, KY, and the many 
relatives and residents who knew him only by his legacy of sacrifice 
for his country.
  The tragedy of war, the unanswered questions of forensic science, and 
even the restrictions of a pandemic were ultimately unable to separate 
the remains of this honorable sailor from his loving family and the 
community that refused to forget him. Likewise, we are honored to 
remember him, and to this returning sailor, we say, ``Welcome home. 
Fair winds and following seas.''

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