[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 26, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Remembering Johnnie Jones

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, today my State and I think the entire 
country should both mourn the loss and celebrate the life of an 
American hero and dedicated civil rights leader--Johnnie Jones, who 
recently died at age 102 but in his 102 years fought for our country, 
fought for the free world, and also fought to bring civil rights to a 
better place.
  During World War II, Johnnie Jones helped storm the beaches of 
Normandy as part of D-day, liberate France from Nazi occupation--along 
the way, being part of the Battle of the Bulge. He was injured during 
the D-day invasion when his ship hit a mine, and he suffered shrapnel 
wounds from German air attacks, but he never stopped fighting.
  When he came back, he attended Southern Law School and then led civil 
rights efforts in Baton Rouge. He legally represented the organizers at 
the Baton Rouge bus boycott, which served as a forerunner or a template 
for the Montgomery bus boycott. Throughout his career, he took on 
several civil rights cases, advocating for equality under the law, and 
served a term in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
  His commitment to service and his love of our country was not just 
admirable but inspiring.
  Last year, I had the honor to present him with a Purple Heart for the 
wounds he received during the D-day invasion in 1944.
  My grandson has been to the World War II Museum in New Orleans--a 
tremendous museum--and he is now very much into the heroism of our 
soldiers who were in both World War II and World War I. So I took my 
grandson to meet Mr. Jones because I wanted him to meet a real-life 
hero.
  Here you see him at 102--so proud of his medals, saluting.
  My grandson, just the other day, said: Papaw, remind me of that man 
we met. So his meeting Mr. Jones 2 years ago has inspired a 7-year-old 
to live his life a better way.
  So, as Mr. Jones salutes us, shall we all be inspired, shall we 
always remember the heroism abroad and the heroism here.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.