[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 94 (Friday, May 28, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E589-E590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE THE LAST FULL MEASURE 
                              OF DEVOTION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 28, 2021

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in remembrance of every man 
and woman of the Armed Forces who gave the last full measure of 
devotion in defense of our country.
  Memorial Day is a reminder to all of us who live in freedom that as 
President Kennedy said, ``The price of freedom is high, but Americans 
have always paid it.''
  Each May, veteran and service organizations come together to hold 
events around the country to demonstrate their gratitude to current and 
former men and women in uniform and their families for their service to 
our country.
  This year marks the 46th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, 
the conflict that deeply involved and affected every member of my 
generation, but none more so than the families and loved ones of the 
58,148 men and women who never returned home but whose valor and 
sacrifice is forever enshrined on the sacred Wall of the Vietnam 
Memorial in Washington, D.C.
  357 of those names remind us of the sacrifice on the altar of freedom 
made by the families of Houston.
  Among those who served are:

       1. Sgt. Major James Williams of the U.S. Army, who was able 
     to join the Army at the age of 15 because his mother agreed 
     to say that he was 17 (the required age) and was stationed in 
     Vietnam from 1960 to 1962 as Advisor to the Vietnam Regular 
     Army and then served 3-combat tours of duty from 1965 to 1967 
     before retiring in 1971 with the rank of Sgt. Major after 21 
     years of service. Sgt. Major Williams says today that ``If I 
     could go back in combat and do what I did, in my physical 
     condition, I would do it all over again.''
       2. Major General John H. Bailey II (Ret) TXSG, who was 
     commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in May 1967 
     and served two tours of duty in Vietnam, 1967 to 68 and 1971 
     to 72, first as platoon leader and company commander with the 
     101st Airborne Division, and second as an Army Fixed Wing 
     Aviator where he flew Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and 
     Search and Destroy Missions over South Vietnam, Laos, and 
     Cambodia.
       3. Felix Lugo of the United States Army, a native 
     Houstonian and has been a resident of the Heights for the 
     past 45 years, who was 18 years old when he joined the Army 
     in January 1975 and served 6 years with the 4th Battalion, 
     31st Infantry Division (Mechanized), Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and 
     as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, and is still so 
     proud to be a Vietnam Era Veteran.

  Of the 2.7 million Americans who served in uniform in Vietnam, more 
than 10 percent (362,000) were killed or wounded, including 5 Americans 
soldiers who were just 16 years old.
  The average age of the soldiers who fought in Vietnam was just 22 
years old and 61 percent of those killed were younger than 21.
  Three in every five (61 percent) of those killed were younger than 21 
and 17,539 among those killed would never again see their wives and 
children.
  So it is fitting and proper that during this month of May a grateful 
nation acknowledges and affirms the debt owed to those brave men and 
women who risked their lives to preserve the freedoms we too often take 
for granted.
  Texas is home to more than 130,000 active military personnel and more 
than 1,600,000 veterans, 30,000 of which are from the 18th 
Congressional District of Texas.
  It has been an honor to represent these constituents and I am 
extremely proud of their service.
  As we acknowledge our veterans, current and future military men and 
women, it is essential that we provide them with the resources 
necessary to help, in President Lincoln's words, ``him who has borne 
the battle, and his widow and orphan.''

[[Page E590]]

  That is why I was proud to cosponsor and help shepherd to passage 
H.R. 1344, the Helping Heroes Fly Act, that was signed into law in 2013 
and which facilitates expedited passenger screening at airports for 
service members who are severely injured or disabled, along with their 
families.
  It is why I also authored the ``Helping to Encourage Real Opportunity 
for Veterans Transitioning from Battlespace to Workplace Act of 2015,'' 
or HEROS Act, legislation which provides strong incentives for 
employers to hire, retain, and employ veterans in positions that take 
maximum advantage of their skills and experience.
  Madam Speaker, let us remember and keep in our hearts the brave men 
and women who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country 
while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan or some other foreign theater of 
conflict.
  God bless them and all who served.
  And may God bless the United States.

                          ____________________