[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 124 (Monday, July 21, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E700-E701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING WORLD WAR II HERO BUD LOMELL
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HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH
of new jersey
in the house of representatives
Monday, July 21, 2025
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and
honor one of the bravest and most highly decorated combat soldiers of
World War II--Leonard G. ``Bud'' Lomell--by naming the new Veterans
outpatient clinic in Toms River, New Jersey in his honor.
While Bud Lomell passed away in 2011, at age 91, his dear wife
Charlotte is turning 104 in September; she and her family deeply loved
Bud and continue to deeply cherish his memory. I spoke to Bud's
youngest daughter Renee on the phone this morning and they are very
pleased that Congress is poised to honor him.
I also want to extend special thanks to former Toms River Mayor and
retired Admiral Mo Hill for originally coming up with this idea to name
the clinic for Bud Lomell, as well as, his incredible advocacy on
behalf of Bud and his family.
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, First Sergeant Bud Lomell of D Company, 2nd
Ranger Infantry Battalion, and his Army Rangers were tasked with the
nearly impossible mission of scaling the 100-foot cliffs at Pointe du
Hoc and to destroy the Germans' 155-millimeter artillery guns with a
range of 10 to 15 miles that threatened the entire allied invasion,
which they believed were positioned at the top of the cliffs.
Bud Lomell and his Rangers, upon successfully climbing the cliffs
despite heavy casualties--Bud was actually wounded leaving the landing
craft but tenaciously continued and said in one interview, ``I lost
half my guys''--were dismayed to find at the top of the cliffs, that
Allied military intelligence was misled by decoys, and that the entire
invasion was now at risk.
After forming patrols to search for the guns, First Sergeant Lomell
and another Ranger, Sergeant Jack Kuhn, found the five guns camouflaged
in a nearby orchard. He discovered they were all aimed at Utah Beach,
but could reach Normandy as well. With Kuhn providing cover, Bud Lomell
used thermite grenades to singlehandedly destroy three of the Nazi big
artillery guns, got more thermite grenades and went back and destroyed
the other two, five massive artillery guns destroyed, ultimately
helping to ensure the success of the Allied invasion and saving
countless lives.
Historian Stephen Ambrose has described Bud Lomell as the single
individual, besides Allied Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower, who was
most responsible for the success of the D-Day invasion.
In his book, The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw devoted an entire
chapter to Bud Lomell, who he first met forty years after the invasion
at D-Day. He noted that during their interview, even after several
decades, he ``could almost see the tough, young First
[[Page E701]]
Seargeant Lomell directing his men as they landed under the withering
fire of the German forces.''
For his amazing leadership and extraordinarily brave acts, Bud Lomell
received the Distinguished Service Cross--the second highest military
decoration. The citation said in part: ``First Sergeant Lomell led a
patrol of men through the heaviest kind of automatic weapons fire to
destroy an enemy machine gun nest. Later on, the same day, while
leading another patrol, he penetrated through the enemy lines to the
rear and discovered five enemy 155-mm. guns . . . he gallantly led his
patrol against the enemy and successfully destroyed the guns . . .
First Sergeant Lomell's bold and outstanding leadership in the face of
superior numbers is in keeping with the highest traditions of the
military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon
himself and the United States Army.''
Lomell also received a rare battlefield promotion to Second
Lieutenant, and it was said that ``there was not a man who did not feel
proud to serve under him.''
Six months later, Bud Lomell served in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest,
where he and D Company helped capture and defend the Notorious Hill
400, which had claimed thousands of his fellow servicemembers' lives.
He was subsequently awarded the Silver Star for his valor in combat.
His Silver Star citation states:
``Conspicuously leading from the front, Lomell directed the
successful defense of the hilltop in the face of a nearly overwhelming
German counterattack midday . . . Refusing shelter and, at risk of life
with blood oozing from his ears, nose, and mouth, firing his machine
gun cradled in his bandaged left arm with his right hand, he continued
to lead his men against another ruthless German assault throughout the
entire afternoon.''
Bud was wounded at Hurtgen and again weeks later in the Battle of the
Bulge.
In addition to the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star, Bud
Lomell received other awards including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart
with two Oak Leaf Clusters and France's highest medal--the Legion of
Honor.
A little further background: born in Brooklyn in 1920, Bud Lomell was
adopted by Scandinavian immigrants and raised in Point Pleasant, New
Jersey, along with his four siblings. His parents instilled in him a
strong work ethic and he often worked odd jobs to help support his
family during the Great Depression, which included delivering mail,
caddying at Manasquan River Golf Club, and selling his father's
paintings to guests at local hotels. This relentless drive also
followed him in sports, where he became a stellar boxer and played
football and baseball. He earned a partial football scholarship at
Tennessee Wesleyan University, where he worked part time to support his
aging parents.
Bud Lomell married Charlotte Ewart, a public health nurse in Long
Branch. They settled in Toms River, where they raised three daughters,
Georgine, Pauline, and Renee. They also took in Elizabeth ``Buffy'' and
Jay Bergson, the children of Charlotte's sister who passed
unexpectedly, and raised them as their own. Lomell's daughter Renee
describes her beloved dad as a caring and devoted father who loved and
valued their mother and taught them to, as he would say, ``work hard,
be respectful, and do the right thing.''
Bud Lomell was appointed to serve as the first director of the newly
organized Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau to assist veterans with
their transition to civilian life. He later graduated from Rutgers Law
School and opened one of Ocean County's largest and most successful law
firms. Initially a member of the prestigious Ocean County Lawyers'
Club, he resigned in protest when the club would not admit a Jewish
lawyer whom he had recommended. ``I'm not going to tolerate any anti-
Semitism,'' he said at the time. ``I didn't fight Nazis in Europe to
come home and find anti-Semitism in my backyard.''
He was an active participant in civil life, serving as president of
the Ocean County Bar Association, a director of the First National Bank
of Toms River, a member of the Dover Township Board of Education, and a
co-founder of the Garden State Philharmonic.
The 68,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility, which we hope will
soon bear his name, provides both primary care as well as specialty
care, including dental care, women's health care, mental health
counseling, physical therapy, and laboratory services. It is only
fitting that a clinic that has already done so much for our community
be named after a true war hero who dedicated his life to the service of
his country and its veterans.
As President Reagan famously put it in his speech at Pointe du Hoc,
the men who invaded Normandy, including and most especially Bud Lomell,
``had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought
for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this
beachhead or on the next.'' They were ``the men who took the cliffs.''
They were ``the champions who helped free a continent.'' They were
``the heroes who helped end a war.'' In enduring gratitude to them, Mr.
Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in bestowing this posthumous
honor on Second Lieutenant Bud Lomell.
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