[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 68 (Thursday, April 18, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2506-H2507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0915
     CELEBRATING WORLD WAR II VETERAN ELMER COCKE'S 100TH BIRTHDAY

  (Mr. GOOD of Virginia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize World War II 
veteran Elmer Cocke of Danville, Virginia, who recently turned 100 
years old.
  After finishing high school, Elmer joined the U.S. Maritime Service 
Radio School. He underwent his training in New York and Massachusetts, 
learned Morse code, and was promoted to warrant officer.
  In 1945, he joined the William J. Palmer, a Liberty ship carrying the 
products of the ``Arsenal of Democracy'' to American forces and Allies 
around the world.
  When sailing across the Mediterranean in 1945, the William J. Palmer 
struck a mine in the Adriatic Sea.

[[Page H2507]]

Elmer jumped into action, helping make way for a lifeboat to detach 
from the sinking ship.
  The entire crew boarded a rescue ship and was taken to Italy with no 
crewmembers lost. Elmer headed back to New York and again to another 
Liberty ship going to France to transport hundreds of victorious 
American soldiers back home.
  Elmer was discharged in 1946, and returned to his wife, Hilda, and 
their Gretna farm.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize the extraordinary veterans 
of Virginia's Fifth District like Elmer Cocke, a living picture of the 
courage and patriotism that have kept our Nation free.

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