[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO RALPH RAY MITOLA

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I take time today to tell the Senate 
about a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of his Nation--a 
young man who died in the Korean war. His name is Ralph Ray Mitola.
  He came from Broad Channel, NY. For those Senators who are not 
familiar with Broad Channel, it is a populated island in Jamaica Bay. 
It is part of Queens County, which is one of the boroughs of the City 
of New York. Cross Bay Boulevard connects Broad Channel to the 
Rockaways, which are a magnificent gateway to the Atlantic Ocean.
  The American Legion Broad Channel Memorial Post 1404 recently honored 
the memory of Ralph Mitola, and four other young men from Broad Channel 
who died in the Korean war. The occasion for the ceremony was the 50th 
anniversary of the armistice in Korea, which was observed by American 
Legion Post 1404 as part of the 85th Annual Queens County Convention 
Parade. Mr. President, July 27, 1953 is the day in history when 
negotiators signed the armistice agreement at Panmunjom. The armistice 
led to a North Korean withdrawal across the 38th parallel, and the 
Republic of South Korea regained its status as a free and democratic 
nation. Korea was a critical battleground in the defense of liberty 
against the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century. Ralph Mitola 
left his home and traveled half a world away to the Korean Peninsula to 
defend freedom.
  Corporal Mitola was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 23d 
Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. On August 1, 1952, during a 
night attack on ``Old Baldy'' in North Korea, he was killed by small 
arms fire. Corporal Mitola was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat 
Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations 
Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Korean War 
Service Medal.
  As our Nation's soldiers are once again fighting for the cause of 
freedom overseas, it is all the more important to remember those who 
helped protect America on the Korean Peninsula a half century ago.
  Ralph Mitola, born April 10, 1931, killed in action, August 1, 1952.
  Mr. President, his loved ones and comrades in arms are eternally 
proud of him. I honor his memory.

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