[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2364-S2366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Ms. Lummis, and Mr. Carper):
S. 2274. A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 112 Wyoming Street in Shoshoni, Wyoming, as the
``Dessie A. Bebout Post Office''; to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs.
Ms. LUMMIS. Madam President, it is my real honor today to join
Senator Barrasso of Wyoming and Senator Carper of Delaware in support
of legislation to rename the Shoshoni, WY, Post Office the Dessie A.
Bebout Post Office.
Wyoming is full of exceptional women, and Dessie was surely one of
them. In the years following the Pearl Harbor attack, Dessie was one of
the first women to enlist in the WAVES, the Women Accepted for
Volunteer Emergency Services.
Dessie traveled by train across the country to New York City for
basic training. She was later stationed in Seattle for 2\1/2\ years,
where she was responsible for recording the arrival and departure of
sailors to and from the Pacific Fleet.
Dessie then married Herbert ``Hugh'' Bebout, also a Wyoming native,
and, in 1945, they moved back to Wyoming to start their life together.
They raised five children, and today their family has grown to 13
grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
In 1962, Dessie became the postmaster of the Shoshoni post office.
Her exemplary service was recognized when she was awarded the Order of
the Vest, which is the highest honor given to postmasters.
Dessie Bebout passed away in May of this year at the age of 102
years. She lived up to what it means to be part of the Greatest
Generation. It is very fitting that we rename the Shoshoni Post Office
after Dessie Bebout. It serves as a small token of our appreciation for
her service to Wyoming and our country.
Now I would like to yield the floor to the senior Senator from
Wyoming, John Barrasso, whose inspired idea to name the post office in
Shoshoni after Dessie Bebout brings us here today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming is recognized.
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, it is a privilege to be here today,
joined by my colleague from Wyoming, Senator Cynthia Lummis, and my
colleague from Delaware, the chairman of the Committee on Environment
and Public Works, Senator Tom Carper, to honor this incredible woman,
Dessie Bebout.
Senator Lummis is absolutely right. I attended the funeral of this
102-year-old just a couple of weeks ago. We were in Riverton, WY, for
the services as she was laid to rest with military honors in Hudson,
WY, and thought what an opportunity to name a post office after someone
who has given so much to their country, as well as to the Postal
Service.
It is wonderful to be working with Senator Tom Carper again on an
issue of great interest to both of us because he was a senior partner
when, a few years ago, we named a post office in Thermopolis, WY, after
Bob Brown, a World War II hero who then was awarded the Purple Heart
for his service in Korea and served 41 years at the Thermopolis Post
Office before he retired as the postmaster. So I come to the floor
today, along with our colleagues, to introduce a bill to honor the
legacy of this remarkable woman, Dessie A. Bebout of Shoshoni, WY.
She was really a trailblazer for women in Wyoming because she was a
patriot. She honorably served our
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country during World War II. She was one of the first to raise her
hand, take the oath, and volunteer as she did for this remarkable group
of individuals who volunteered: the Women Accepted for Volunteer
Emergency Service in World War II, the WAVES.
She was born in Hudson, WY--a very small community--in 1920. If you
haven't ever been to Hudson, there is a small Main Street. And since
Hudson didn't have a doctor, Dessie was born with the help of a
midwife. She was the fourth of nine children. They worked very hard
supporting the family business that was the Svilar family. Her maiden
name was Svilar. They had the Svilar's bar and restaurant, the Svilars'
Light and Power company--they provided libations as well as
electricity--and the Svilars' derby bar. It is a small town, but two
bars make for a smalltown charm. The Svilars' bar and restaurant is
still open today. So, if you ever get to Hudson, stop in because they
have the best steaks you are going to ever find anywhere.
Her life experience is one, really, that highlighted her legendary
work ethic. After graduating from Fremont County Vocational High School
in Lander, she worked for the Fremont County Extension service and at
the F.E. Warren Air Force Base. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in
1941 changed the United States and the world forever, and it certainly
changed her. Being willing to serve the country, to step forward, is
part of the Wyoming bloodstream.
When she joined and went to New York City for basic training and was
then stationed in Seattle, WA, she reconnected with a young man who she
had met previously in Hudson, Herbert ``Hugh'' Bebout. After a few
months of writing letters, they were married in 1943. He was an
enlisted man in the U.S. Air Force.
After World War II ended, he was discharged; and, along with Dessie,
they came home to Wyoming. They started a family and had four children:
Eli, Ruby, Nick, and David. Eli was speaker of the house in the Wyoming
Legislature. Ruby runs the Wyoming public television. Nick played
football for the University of Wyoming and then for the NFL.
Dessie's life and family and giving just continued to grow. She
started her career in the Postal Service in 1962. She rose to
postmaster for Shoshoni, WY, where she served for 13 years. In 1975,
Dessie retired as the Shoshoni postmaster, where she had earned the
Order of the Vest. It is the highest award given to postmasters.
Although she had retired from the Postal Service, her work and
community service didn't stop. She served as a Fremont County election
judge, for the Shoshoni Chamber of Commerce, on the Shoshoni PTA, on
the Wyoming women's commission, on the Veterans of Foreign Wars Women's
Auxiliary, and on the Riverton hospital board, among many
organizations.
As a result of her military and civic service, she was awarded with
the Wyoming Woman of Distinction award from the Wyoming women's
commission, and she received the Medal of Honor from the Daughters of
the American Revolution. Her accolades and awards didn't stop there.
She even had her own holiday because, in 2022, the mayor of Hudson,
Mike Anderson, declared May 30 as Dessie Bebout Day.
Now, she had--I think the Senator from Wyoming said--13
grandchildren. As they spoke at the funeral--as a number of them did--
there were those who claimed to be the favorite grandchild, but since
Kara Calvert is here today, the granddaughter of Dessie Bebout, I think
we will let Kara put upon herself that accolade.
Dessie Bebout truly exemplifies the Code of the West, which is, in
Wyoming, you live each day with courage; you take pride in your work;
and you do what needs to be done. Cowboys never complain. Cowboys never
quit. If somebody were hungry, she would feed them--a remarkable woman.
If they were sick, she would care from them.
I am proud to be joined by both Senator Carper and Senator Lummis
today in introducing this legislation to rename the post office in
Shoshoni, WY, as the ``Dessie A. Bebout Post Office.'' Naming it after
Dessie is going to ensure her legacy carries on for future generations
of Wyoming's men and women.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. CARPER. Madam President, folks that are back in Delaware are
probably wondering as they are watching on C-SPAN, What is our Senator
doing there giving a floor speech and talking about a woman from
Wyoming? There is a Wyoming, DE. It is in Kent County, which is just
south of Dover. We have great restaurants, plenty of restaurants. In
fact, the Senator from Wyoming described that Svilar's--is it Svilar's?
I think it is Svilar's--still exists.
We have a huge Air Force base in Dover, the Dover Air Force Base.
They fly huge airplanes and have a mortuary there to receive the
remains of our fallen heroes. That is part of our State. We just have
very strong support for military personnel and all things Air Force. I
am Navy.
So it is the idea that we have a woman here--you know, it is one
thing for a guy to have done some of this stuff that Dessie did, but it
is another to have a woman in World War II volunteer and enlist on the
heels of the attack on Pearl Harbor and to go on and serve, really,
with distinction.
In my family, we believe in the Navy blue. My dad was a chief petty
officer, and my uncles were chief petty officers. My mother's youngest
brother died in a kamikaze attack on his aircraft carrier, and my
grandmother got the Gold Star for the Great Green Fleet Navy blue. So I
just get inspired by Dessie's heroism that we are hearing about here
today.
For the people who might have been listening carefully when Senator
Barrasso was talking about the restaurant that she opened, he said
that, when the people were hungry, she fed them. That is a line out of
the Bible. It is actually a line out of Matthew 25: When I was hungry,
you did feed me. When I was naked, you did clothe me. When I was sick
and in prison, you did visit me. When I was thirsty, you did give me
drink.
This is a woman who not only served her country in uniform and who
not only ran a successful business--it sounds like--for over 100 years
for family but who actually felt a moral responsibility to make sure
that people did not go hungry.
I also am the senior Democrat--I am the senior, actually, member of a
committee called Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. We have
jurisdiction, among other things on that committee, over the Postal
Service. We have, literally, tens of thousands of people who serve in
the Postal Service across the country today. It is a tough job and
sometimes a thankless job, but we are grateful to them for their
service. A lot of them, it turns out, served in the military. They may
have served in the Korean war, and they may have served in Vietnam;
they may have served in Afghanistan, and they may have served in Iraq.
But they wore the uniform of our country, and they wore or wear the
uniform of the Postal Service. In either instance, they are serving
this country. They are serving their communities and are doing so, in
some cases, at great risk to themselves.
There is a little bit of a love story in this as well. It is kind of
a mixed marriage of a Navy woman and an Air Force man who get married
and raise a family--have all of these kids--and go on to do amazing
things as a family in their own community. It is a story that I am
inspired by, and I am honored that Senator Barrasso would ask me to
join him and Senator Lummis to tell the story, too.
I remember a couple of years ago when we were on the floor here--
Senator Barrasso and myself and a fellow named Mike Enzi, the late Mike
Enzi, who held the seat that Senator Lummis now holds today--hearing
them talk about the naming of a post office in Wyoming in a place
called Thermopolis, which I had never heard of but that I will never
forget. The question was, Should they rename that post office there
after Bobbi Barrasso's dad? They didn't have a Democratic cosponsor for
the bill. I talked to Senator Barrasso and to Senator Enzi and said: I
would be honored. If you are looking for a bipartisan bill, I would be
happy to be your wingman on this particular flight. And they were good
enough to let me join the team.
So, to Dessie Bebout, your family members are out there, watching and
listening. I want to just say thank you
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for sharing a remarkable person, not just with the folks in the town in
which she and her family have lived, worked, and served for all of
those years, but thank you for sharing her with our country in a
broader way. Thank you for serving as an inspiration. We are in your
debt, and I am honored to be part of this trio to offer this
legislation today and to ask for its passage.
______