[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ROBERT WHALEY

 Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, today I would like to honor the 
life and service of a distinguished Montanan and Vietnam veteran, 
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Whaley.
  Bob is a native son of the Treasure State and graduated from Missoula 
County High in 1954. He had a successful college football career at 
Carroll College, where he also served as president of the student body 
council. After graduating from Carroll, Bob answered the call to serve 
and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps for Aviation Office Candidate 
School. He shortly commissioned as a second lieutenant and spent the 
next 18 months at Pensacola flight school training in Florida, flying 
both fixed-wing aircrafts and helicopters.
  In April 1962, Bob was a member of the first Marine aircraft unit to 
serve in South Vietnam. Soon after arriving in Vietnam, he also 
participated in the Vietnam war's first night medevac mission. 
Throughout his first two tours of Vietnam, Bob flew medevac 
helicopters, where he rescued wounded American troops. While flying a 
Huey gunship to support transport helicopters in 1965, Bob's aircraft 
was shot down. He and the rest of his crew miraculously survived the 
crash, but they sustained serious injuries and were evacuated stateside 
to recover. After recovering, he began training replacement pilots at 
Camp Pendleton and eventually returned to Vietnam in 1968, 3 weeks 
after marrying his wife, LaWana. There, he got back in the Huey and 
flew hundreds of recon and rescue missions. When Bob finally returned 
to the U.S. from Vietnam for the last time in 1969, he had logged more 
than 800 missions and earned 40 Air Medals, two Distinguished Flying 
Crosses, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He continued his service in 
the Marine Corps for another decade and eventually retired in 1979 as a 
lieutenant colonel and the executive officer of Marine Air Group 39 at 
Camp Pendleton.
  After retiring, Bob returned to his native Missoula and began working 
as a financial adviser. Eventually, he retired for good so he and 
LaWana could enjoy the mountains outside of Missoula. Sadly, LaWana 
passed last December, after 54 years of marriage.
  Today, it is my honor to commemorate Bob's incredible service to our 
country. On behalf of myself and a grateful nation, I commend 
Lieutenant Colonel Whaley, and extend our deepest appreciation to him 
and his family. His exemplary service in the Marines is what makes our 
country the greatest in the world and Montana the Last Best Place. He 
is a true patriot who has made Montana proud, and we owe him a deep 
debt of gratitude.

                          ____________________