[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 159 (Friday, October 25, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING LIEUTENANT WESLEY W. WILLIAMS AND PRIVATE JOSEPH PESIN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TED LIEU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 25, 2024

  Mr. LIEU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to solemnly honor two gallant 
Veterans, Lieutenant Wesley W. Williams and Private Joseph Pesin. Lt. 
Williams and Pvt. Pesin are to be recognized for their acts of 
gallantry during World War II at the University of California, Los 
Angeles (UCLA) Veterans Day ceremony on November 13, 2024.
  On the day after the December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack, 56 
members of the UCLA Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity met and voted 
unanimously to enlist in the United States Armed Forces. Among those 56 
men who enlisted, seven men including Lt. Williams, never returned 
home. Lt. Williams was listed as Missing In Action.
  On April 5, 1945, a French Prisoner of War (POW), Pvt. Joseph Pesin 
wrote to the International Red Cross about a highly decorated, badly 
wounded American soldier who died in captivity in a German Prison 
Camp--Stalag IX. Pvt. Pesin described how this American soldier spoke 
about his college sweetheart, Patricia Lampton, a member of the UCLA 
Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, and the unborn child the couple 
were expecting. Pvt. Pesin stated that Lt. Williams' remains were 
buried in an unmarked grave outside the prison camp.
  Before Lt. Williams lost his life, he exhibited bravery and fearless 
leadership during combat. While his platoon was under attack, Lt. 
Williams left his covered position to aid in the evacuation of the 
wounded and directed the withdrawal of his platoon. The soldiers that 
Lt. Williams saved in his platoon later liberated Dora-Nordhausen 
Concentration Camp.
  At the UCLA Veterans Day ceremony, Lt. Williams' daughter, Diana 
Joyce (Williams) Klopfenstein, will receive the Flag of our grateful 
Country and her father's missing declassified Silver Star Commendation 
for Valor in Combat. Appearing with Diana is the only child of Pvt. 
Pesin, Madame Therese Mauclaire. Pvt. Pesin's compassionate act brought 
comfort to the lives of 21 families of Allied soldiers buried in 
unmarked graves outside the prison camp.
  I respectfully ask my colleagues to join me in remembering these two 
brave men, Lt. Wesley W. Williams and French Private Joseph Pesin, for 
their heroic actions during World War II.

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