[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 64 (Monday, April 15, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2385-H2386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF FIREMAN FIRST CLASS WALTER SCHLEITER

  (Mr. DELUZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DELUZIO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Fireman First Class 
Walter Schleiter.
  A son of western P.A., he was born in 1916 in Freedom, Pennsylvania, 
in what is now the 17th Congressional District, at the close of the 
World War I. At the start of World War II, Walter Schleiter lost his 
life in the struggle for the value for which his hometown is named. He 
was only 22.

[[Page H2386]]

  Fireman Schleiter enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and was sent to Pearl 
Harbor. He was promoted to Fireman First Class just days before the 
Japanese attack on December 7. A crewman aboard the USS Oklahoma, he 
was one of 429 sailors who perished on that dark day.
  Since his body could not be immediately identified, his remains were 
placed in a Hawaiian cemetery with other unidentified servicemembers. 
His Gold Star mother grieved the loss of her only son without the 
closure of putting his body to rest.
  In 2015, the Navy launched the USS Oklahoma Project to identify the 
remaining sailors and bring them home. In 2018, Fireman Schleiter was 
identified through DNA technology, and finally last week he was laid to 
rest at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
  Today, we honor his service and sacrifice.

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