[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 175 (Monday, November 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6658-S6659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              VETERANS DAY

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, our Nation recently celebrated Veterans 
Day, one of the most sacred days on our national calendar. Across the 
land, grateful Americans paid tribute to the brave men and women who 
have defended our freedom throughout our history.
  Today, nearly 20 million Americans hold the title of veteran. That 
includes almost 110,000 men and women in my State of Maine, one of the 
highest percentages in the country. It is estimated that some 48 
million patriots have served in uniform since our Nation's founding. 
Among them is a very special group of more than 3,500 heroes who have 
received the Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor in action. 
Although more than 160 years have passed since the medal's inception, 
its foundation of courage and sacrifice have remained constant.
  More than 100 Mainers have earned the Medal of Honor. In observation 
of Memorial Day last May, Emily Burnham of the ``Bangor Daily News'' 
authored a fascinating story profiling four of them. I am delighted to 
insert her inspiring story into the Congressional Record and to recap 
briefly the heroism she described.
  Early in the Civil War, fisherman Andrew Tozier enlisted in the 2nd 
Maine Infantry. He was wounded at the Battle of Gaines Mill in Virginia 
and captured. After being released by the Confederates, he joined the 
20th Maine Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Joshua 
Chamberlain.
  At Gettysburg, he was the Regiment's color bearer. During the 
decisive stand Chamberlain led at Little Round Top, Sergeant Tozier 
stood at the center of the regiment with the regimental flag tucked in 
his right elbow while he used the rifle of a wounded member of the 
color guard to return fire on the attacking Confederates in defense of 
his comrades.
  After the war, Mr. Tozier was adrift and fell into a life of crime, 
stealing cattle and other property. When he was arrested, Chamberlain, 
then Governor of Maine, took Mr. Tozier and his wife into his home and 
helped him turn his life around. In addition, Gov. Chamberlain, a Medal 
of Honor recipient himself, recommended Andew Tozier for the medal for 
his bravery at Little Round Top. Veterans helping fellow veterans 
remains an American tradition.
  Before World War II, Edward Dahlgren worked as a seed potato 
inspector in Maine's Aroostook County. He enlisted in the Army in 1943 
and served with the 36th Infantry Division. On February 11, 1945, in 
France, Sergeant Dahlgren led the rescue of a unit surrounded by German 
forces, repeatedly attacking enemy positions alone and capturing nearly 
40 prisoners. His Medal of Honor citation credits his ``bold leadership 
and magnificent courage'' for repulsing an enemy attack and saving an 
American platoon from great danger.
  Charles Loring of Portland distinguished himself in both World War II 
and the Korean war. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces and 
flew 55 combat missions as a fighter pilot. In December of 1944, he was 
shot down over Belgium and spent 6 months as a prisoner of war.
  Major Loring returned to combat duty in 1952, flying an F-80 jet 
fighter in Korea. Leading a patrol on November 22 of that year, he 
spotted a concentration of enemy artillery that was pinning down UN 
ground troops. As Loring began his bombing run, his plane was severely 
damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Rather than abort his mission and leave 
the ground troops in danger, Loring dove his damaged aircraft into the 
enemy position. He was killed instantly, but his action resulted in the 
complete destruction of the threat. When Major Loring's widow was 
presented the posthumous Medal of Honor by President Eisenhower on May 
9, 1954, it was announced that the new Air Force base in Limestone, ME, 
would bear his name.
  Gary Gordon grew up in Lincoln, ME. After graduating from his school 
in 1978, he enlisted in the Army and later volunteered for the elite 
Delta Force unit. On October 3, 1993, while serving in a peacekeeping 
mission in Mogadishu, Somalia, Master Sergeant Gordon and fellow sniper 
1SG Sergeant Randy Shughart took action to rescue the crews of two 
Black Hawk helicopters that had been shot down by Somali gunfire.
  Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, Gordon and Shughart fought their 
way to the first helicopter, pulled the crew from the wreckage, and 
defended their position until they ran out of ammunition. Both gave 
their lives defending their fellow soldiers, and both received the 
Medal of Honor.
  Their extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are immortalized in 
the book and movie ``Black Hawk Down.'' Last year, I had the privilege 
to join in the dedication of a memorial to Master Sergeant Gordon in 
his hometown of Lincoln.
  Although separated by many years and theaters of combat, these four 
share the common bond of uncommon valor. They are powerful reminders 
that our Nation has been blessed throughout our history by ordinary 
citizens who possess the character and the strength to do extraordinary 
things.

[[Page S6659]]

  Veterans Day is a meaningful observance throughout America. Nowhere 
did Veterans Day 2022 have more meaning than in the small Maine town of 
New Vineyard. That is when Army Air Forces Sergeant Zelwood Gravlin 
returned home for burial 79 years after he perished in the skies over 
German-controlled Romania during World War II.
  Sergeant Gravlin was a gunner on the B-24 Liberator bomber ``Four 
Eyes'' that was shot down on August 1, 1943, during Operation Tidal 
Wave that targeted the Romanian oil refineries that fueled the Nazi war 
machine. Fifty-one of the 177 B-24s on that harrowing raid did not 
return.
  The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began exhuming unknown remains 
associated with Operation Tidal Wave in 2017. One set of remains, which 
were first interred in a Romanian cemetery and then at an American 
Military Cemetery in Belgium, were positively identified as Sergeant 
Gravlin's in July.
  This remarkable event underscores the commitment of the American 
people that the men and women who serve our country will always be 
honored and, no matter how many years pass, they will never be 
forgotten. May God bless our veterans and may God bless America.
  I ask unanimous consent that the ``Bangor Daily News'' story by Emily 
Burnham be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                      [From the Bangor Daily News]

These 4 Medal of Honor Recipients From Maine Set Themselves Apart With 
                             Their Bravery

                           (By Emily Burnham)

       More than 100 Mainers have been awarded the Medal of Honor, 
     the U.S. govermnent's highest honor for military members. Of 
     those Mainers, each one has an amazing story of bravery and 
     valor, each important to know and be inspired by.
       These are the stories of four of those courageous Mainers, 
     who distinguished themselves on the battlefield for the sake 
     of their fellow soldiers and their country--and in some cases 
     made the ultimate sacrifice.


                            Andrew J. Tozier

       Of the Mainers awarded Medals of Honor for their bravery 
     during the Civil War, few have a post-war story that's nearly 
     as remarkable as the story of their battlefield gallantry, 
     but Andrew Tozier is one such person.
       Born in Monmouth, Tozier escaped an abusive father to first 
     become a sailor. At age 23, not long after the Civil War 
     began, he enlisted in the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment. He was 
     injured and captured at the Battle of Gaines Mill in Virginia 
     in 1862, but after being released by Confederate forces he 
     joined Company I of the 20th Maine in 1863.
       At Gettysburg, he was the color bearer for his regiment, 
     and on Little Round Top he defended his fellow soldiers 
     alone, a feat of bravery for which, decades later, his 
     commander, Brig. Gen. Joshua Chamberlain, recommended he be 
     awarded the Medal of Honor--and he was, in 1898, when he was 
     60.
       After the war, Tozier spent nearly five years as a 
     criminal, stealing cattle and other property in towns across 
     Maine. He had a powerful ally when he was finally arrested: 
     Chamberlain, who by then was Maine's governor. Chamberlain 
     pardoned Tozier, and invited him to live at his house in an 
     effort to get Tozier to clean up his act. Tozier spent the 
     rest of his life working as a fisherman, dairy farmer and 
     factory worker.
       Tozier was portrayed by Maine actor Herb Mitchell in the 
     movie ``Gettysburg,'' and his story was told in the song 
     ``Ballad of the 20th Maine'' by Maine band the Ghost of Paul 
     Revere.


                        Edward Dahlgren, Caribou

       Aroostook County native Edward Dahlgren lived most of his 
     life quietly in the town of Blaine, working as a seed potato 
     inspector for the state. But during World War II, he was 
     personally responsible for keeping an American platoon out of 
     danger during an enemy counterattack in Oberhoffen, France, 
     and capturing about 40 German soldiers during the skirmish on 
     Feb. 11, 1945--just a few months before the war ended in 
     Europe.
       That action earned him the Medal of Honor, presented to him 
     by President Harry S. Truman. When he was awarded it, he was 
     the only living Maine Medal of Honor winner after the Civil 
     War. Lt. Dahlgren lived in Maine for the rest of his life, 
     and a hall at the former Loring Air Force Base was named for 
     him, as was a street in Caribou. He died in 2006 at age 90.


                        Charles Loring, Portland

       Few military members serve in two wars--let alone 
     distinguish themselves in both the way Portland native 
     Charles Loring did. A few years after graduating from 
     Cheverus High School, in 1942, Loring enlisted in the U.S. 
     Army Air Force and received training as a fighter pilot. He 
     would spend the next two years flying missions in both North 
     America and, eventually, on the European front. By December 
     1944, he'd flown 55 combat missions.
       On Dec. 24, 1944, Loring was shot down in Belgium, and 
     spent the next six months as a Nazi prisoner of war. He was 
     liberated three days before the war in Europe ended on May 8, 
     1945.
       Loring's actions that garnered him the Medal of Honor came 
     seven years later when, after years training other pilots, he 
     returned to combat duty in July 1952 as a jet fighter pilot 
     during the Korean War. On Nov. 22 of that year, while leading 
     a flight patrol near the 38th parallel, Loring spotted 
     Chinese artillery that was pinning down American ground 
     troops nearby. The Chinese crews fired on Loring's aircraft 
     and damaged it, but rather than abort the mission, Loring 
     turned off his radio and dive bombed the artillery, 
     eliminating the threat. He died on impact, and his body was 
     never found.
       On May 9, 1954, Loring's widow received the Medal of Honor 
     from President Dwight Eisenhower. On the same day, it was 
     announced that the newly built Air Force base in Limestone 
     would be named for him--Loring Air Force Base, which operated 
     until 1994.


                          Gary Gordon, Lincoln

       Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, a native of Lincoln and graduate 
     of Mattanawcook Academy, joined the Army straight out of high 
     school, eventually joining the elite 1st Special Forces 
     Operational Detachment-Delta, or Delta Force.
       In 1993, he was posted as part of a peacekeeping mission in 
     Mogadishu, Somalia, and on Oct. 3 of that year went in with 
     his fellow sniper Randy Shughart to protect the crews of two 
     Black Hawk helicopters that had been shot down by Somali 
     gunfire during the Battle of Mogadishu, made famous by the 
     book and film ``Black Hawk Down.''
       During the battle, Gordon urged his superiors to let him 
     get on the ground to protect the crew of the downed 
     helicopters from Somali soldiers. Shughart and Gordon alone 
     pulled the crew from the helicopters and defended their 
     position until they ran out of ammunition. Both died 
     defending their fellow soldiers.
       Gordon and Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor, the 
     first awardees since the war in Vietnam. Gordon's widow, 
     Carmen, was presented with the medal in 1994 by President 
     Bill Clinton, and in 1996, the USNS Gordon was named for him. 
     Last year, a statue of Gordon was unveiled in his hometown of 
     Lincoln, and this year, Maine lawmakers advocated for naming 
     a Maine-built Navy destroyer after him.

                          ____________________