[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 131 (Friday, July 28, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING PRIVATE FIRST-CLASS RICHARD BARANCIK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2023

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of 
Private First-Class Richard Barancik who passed away on July 14, 2023. 
He was the final surviving member of the ``Monuments Men'', the World 
War II heroes who were responsible for finding and safeguarding the 
artistic and cultural achievements of western civilization stolen by 
the Nazis.
  Private First-Class Barancik enlisted in the Army and joined the 42nd 
Division, 232 Infantry in Austria, where he learned of the Monuments, 
Fine Arts, and Archives program, and, applied for duty. For several 
weeks, Private First-Class Barancik and his unit assisted in the 
movement of stolen art treasures to the central repository of Property 
Control Branch and served as its guards. From his arrival in Salzburg, 
he was enamored with the dedication of the citizenry to art. After his 
service, he would go on to attend Cambridge University in London, 
finish his architecture degree at the University of Illinois, and found 
an eponymous architecture firm that designed numerous buildings, 
campuses, and dwellings throughout Illinois. Private First-Class 
Barancik is remembered as a man of sharp mind and strong conviction, a 
lover of art, and a devoted father and grandfather.
  When I first learned about the Monuments Men and Women, I was struck 
by their story and wanted to recognize the brave men and women of this 
unit for their contributions during World War II. In 2014, I had the 
opportunity to sponsor the Monuments Men Recognition Act which awarded 
their unit with the Congressional Gold Medal, and I was thrilled when 
it was signed into law. I was lucky to have the opportunity to meet 
Richard Barancik, and 4 of the other Monuments Men and Women in 2015 at 
the presentation ceremony of their Congressional Gold Medal. They 
fought tirelessly against an unwavering evil to preserve the greater 
parts of our history and I am immensely proud to say that I have been a 
supporter of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation from its inception.
  The closing of Richard Barancik's final chapter again underscores the 
reality that our Nation's veterans of World War II have already begun 
to recede from our present, and into the endless window of our 
memories. His work, viewed through this lens, has bestowed to younger 
generations the highest legacy to which any man could aspire. Without 
the service of his unit, great treasures of history and art would have 
been irrevocably lost.
  Our country, and our world, owes Mr. Barancik the greatest honor, 
both in memory and in practice. Rest in peace Private First-Class 
Barancik, an irreplaceable part of our Nation's greatest triumph, and 
an American hero in his own right.

                          ____________________