[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO JORDAN J. CORBETT

 Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I recognize Jordan J. Corbett on the 
occasion of his 101st birthday on November 25, 2023.
  J.J. grew up in Pierce, FL, and attended Union Academy in Bartow. In 
1943, after a semester at Bethune-Cookman University, he was drafted 
into the U.S. Army to fight in World War II. He was one of the first 
African Americans to train as a paratrooper and was a founding member 
of the 555th ``Triple Nickles'' Parachute Infantry Battalion. The 555th 
was part of Operation Firefly, tasked with parachuting into rough 
terrain in the American Northwest to put out fires started by the 
Japan's deadly fire balloons. Not only did they help protect the 
homeland and deter future balloon attacks, they pioneered many of the 
procedures of today's smoke jumpers who help put out wildfires.
  After the war, J.J. earned a degree in mathematics from North 
Carolina Agricultural and Technical College where he played football, 
was editor of the yearbook, and was active in Omega Psi Phi fraternity. 
Upon graduation, he returned to Bartow, FL, to teach math and coached 
at his high school alma mater, where he met his wife Ava.
  He served 12 years on the Polk County School Board and 14 years on 
the board of the Citrus and Chemical Bank. He is a two-time Florida 
Track Coach of the Year and a member of the Florida Athletic 
Association Hall of Fame.
  J.J.'s life of service and perseverance is an inspiration to us all. 
I extend my best birthday wishes to J.J. and his family.

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