[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 37 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAL PECK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 27, 2023

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all South 
Carolinians, I am grateful to wish World War II veteran, Mr. Harold 
(Hal) Peck, a happy 100th birthday.
  Mr. Hal Peck, was born on February 22, 1923 in Shelbyville, Indiana. 
In the spring of 1943, he was drafted and made his way across the 
Atlantic, arriving in Normandy on June 17th, eleven days after D-Day, 
with the area having been secured. As a member of the 226th Signal 
Corps, he was a ``climber,'' responsible for going up and down 
telephone poles to help keep the lines of communication intact. He did 
not carry a rife while on pole duty, as he could not be perceived as a 
threat. The only shots he's taken, says Mr. Peck, deal with basketball.
  After his wartime experience, he was recruited by one of his former 
high school basketball coaches to play for Tulane University, in New 
Orleans. At 5-foot-eight, he excelled in college basketball, and was 
asked by the National Basketball League Commissioner, Doxie Moore, to 
play on one of the National League teams. He declined the offer and 
instead decided to coach basketball in a little town in northern 
Indiana, Kewanna. After 5 years of coaching, he went on to become a 
successful businessman as an insurance salesman and executive.
  In 1949, Mr. Hal Peck, married his Tulane sweetheart, the former Gwen 
Bailie. They had a happy marriage of 60 years, filled with adventure, 
having traveled to almost every country, with Goshen, Indiana as their 
home base. In 1992, they retired to Aiken, South Carolina. Hal and Gwen 
had 2 sons, Rich and Josh Peck, who we join in celebrating their 
father's birthday.
  I also join the family and friends of Mr. Peck in congratulating him 
for the French Legion of Honor which he was awarded by the French 
government in October of 2022 for his service during the war. It is the 
highest distinction, rewarding eminent military and civil merits, that 
can be conferred in France on a French citizen as well as on a 
foreigner.
  Today, I honor Mr. Hal Peck for his service to the American people 
and wish him a happy 100th birthday and the best in his future 
endeavors.

                          ____________________