[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING CHARLES JACKSON FRENCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bacon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Charles Jackson 
French, a World War II hero with ties to Omaha who made one of the most 
underappreciated sacrifices in American military history
  The story of Charles Jackson French is an American story: One of 
courage, sacrifice, and hope. Charles, a Black man, was born in a 
racially segregated Foreman, Arkansas, on September 15, 1919. In 1937, 
Charles enlisted in the United States Navy. After completing his 
enlistment, he moved to Omaha, Nebraska, to be with family, but after 
the attack on Pearl Harbor, he reenlisted.
  According to accounts, on September 5, 1942, Petty Officer First 
Class French was serving as a mess attendant in the racially segregated 
USS Gregory. As a Black man growing up in 1930's Arkansas, Charles 
lived in a time when segregation laws prohibited Black people from 
swimming alongside White people in public pools and beaches, yet when 
the USS Gregory was attacked and sunk by Japanese gunfire off the coast 
of Guadalcanal, it was Petty Officer French who dove into the 
treacherous waters of the Pacific to save his fellow sailors who had 
been wounded.
  Petty Officer French loaded 15 of his fellow sailors into a lifeboat 
and saved his injured comrades from drowning. However, Charles knew 
that they could not simply float to shores controlled by the Japanese 
where they would meet a fate worse than death. Prisoners were often 
tortured then executed. Military.com recounted how Charles tied a rope 
around his waist with the help of his shipmates and towed his fellow 
sailors through shark-infested waters for 8 long hours until they were 
finally identified and saved by an American landing craft.
  In his book ``Black Men and Blue Water'' Chester Wright recounted his 
conversation with Petty Officer French who told him that when he and 
the raft full of survivors were rescued, persons aboard the ship told 
Charles to go ``where the colored boys stay'' while the crew tended to 
the wounded White survivors. Charles further shared that the sailors 
rescued by him told the crew: ``He ain't going nowhere. He is a member 
of the Gregory's crew and he damned well will stay here with the rest 
of us.''
  Just like the sailors who stepped up at the time for French, it is 
our time to stand up and recognize with full measure the sacrifice and 
service of French, whose story has been underappreciated by the Navy 
and history. A real-life hero like Charles must be recognized by the 
military and the country that he devoted his life to.

  In World War II, the Navy gave French a commendation letter. I have 
now asked the Navy to review and consider upgrading to a medal, and the 
Navy is reviewing this now.
  Full recognition of U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Charles 
Jackson French is long overdue. We owe it to Charles, his family, and 
to the millions of Americans who learned from Charles' story.
  Last Friday, I also introduced legislation to rename one of Omaha's 
post offices after Charles, and I am pleased that Representatives Jeff 
Fortenberry and Adrian Smith have joined me in this effort to recognize 
a Nebraska hero.
  Today, I call on the Navy, Congress, and the White House to recognize 
the service and sacrifice of Petty Officer First Class French so that 
all Americans, especially our Nation's future leaders and 
servicemembers, can be inspired by Charles' display of patriotism and 
sacrifice. But also, so the family of Charles can be comforted by the 
eternal gratitude of a Nation that Petty Officer First Class French so 
dutifully served. This three-decade veteran salutes him.

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