[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E348-E349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN MEMORY OF VAUGHN P. DRAKE, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 28, 2025

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor an American hero and a true 
patriot, Mr. Vaughn P. Drake, Jr. of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Drake 
passed away on April 7, 2025, at the age of 106 and has been recognized 
as our Nation's oldest survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  Mr. Drake was born in Winchester, Kentucky on November 6, 1918. He 
attended the University of Kentucky's College of Engineering. At the 
age of 23, he was serving in the Army Corps of Engineers and was in 
charge of a temporary power plant in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, he 
became a part of history as he witnessed Japanese planes attack Pearl 
Harbor, and the battle ensued. He was also involved in the strategic 
and significant Battle of Saipan in the Marianas. For his brave service 
in the United States Army, he received the Congressional Medal for the 
Veterans of Pearl Harbor, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American 
Defense Medal with Foreign Service bar, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with 
two battle stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.
  Following his military service, Mr. Drake returned home to Kentucky 
and married his wife, Lina. They were married for 65 years when she 
passed away in 2011. Mr. Drake is survived by his son, Sam W. Drake, as 
well as two grandsons and three great grandchildren.
  Mr. Drake began working as a registered professional engineer and had 
a distinguished career for over 50 years. He was a member of the 
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the National Society 
of Professional Engineers, and was a charter member and past president 
of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Society of Professional 
Engineers. In

[[Page E349]]

1979 he received the KSPE State Award for Outstanding Engineer in 
Industry. He was involved with the Boy Scouts of America and was a 
member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, the University of 
Kentucky Alumni Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and a life 
member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. He received the 
Mayor's Spirit of Lexington Award.
  Vaughn P. Drake, Jr. was a true patriot, a great American, and an 
inspiration to us all. I am forever grateful to him and other members 
of the Greatest Generation for sacrificing and fighting to preserve the 
freedoms that we hold dear. It is my honor to recognize his life and 
his service before the United States Congress.

                          ____________________