[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 140 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H5139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN HONOR OF PRIVATE LAWRENCE HOO-LEE

  (Mr. BURCHETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURCHETT. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Private Lawrence Hoo-
lee, an American hero who served in World War II. In 1943, after 
graduating from high school, he joined the Marine Corps and began basic 
training at Parris Island, South Carolina, at 18 years old.
  After basic training, he was assigned to the 4th Marine Division and 
sent to Hawaii. He was with the 24th Regiment that landed at Roi-Namur 
Island. His unit took part in the invasion of Eniwetok, and then 
prepared for the invasion of Iwo Jima.
  Private Hoo-lee's next mission was the invasion of the Japanese home 
islands. On the way to capture the Japanese island of Sasebo, located 
35 miles from Nagasaki, of course the United States dropped the first 
atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A day or two later, they dropped the second 
one on Nagasaki.
  He got back to the United States on Christmas Eve, 1945. After being 
discharged in 1946, he went to work at the VA Hospital in Rhode Island 
and was instrumental in helping the area get a nursing home and a 
national VA cemetery.
  Private Hoo-lee was married with two sons and moved to Tennessee in 
1999, where he lives today. He will turn a young 100 years old this 
November, Madam Speaker.
  It is my honor to recognize Private Lawrence Hoo-lee as Tennessee's 
Second District 2024 Veteran of the Month. I thank Private Hoo-lee for 
his service. If my dad were alive, he would say Semper Fi.

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