[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        BRIGADIER GENERAL (AUS-RET.) JOHN H. McLAIN POST OFFICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KATHERINE HARRIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 21, 2003

  Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respectfully appeal to my 
colleagues for their support of H.R. 3068, which will designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2055 Siesta 
Drive in Sarasota, Florida as the ``Brigadier General (AUS-Ret.) John 
H. McLain Post Office''.
  Brigadier General John H. McLain, Army of the United States, Retired, 
was a soldier, teacher, father and friend. Born in Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania on January 21, 1919, he arrived in Sarasota, Florida in 
1986.
  General McLain's original enlistment in the Army's field artillery 
occurred in September 1940. He received his commission as a second 
lieutenant in this unit during December 1942. General McLain fought in 
the Second World War's European Theater, participating in the Battle of 
the Bulge and in the relief of Bastogne as a member of General George 
Pafton's Third Army. While he left active duty with the rank of captain 
in 1945, he volunteered for service in the Korean War as soon as that 
conflict began. General McLain served as a senior advisor to a Korean 
field artillery battalion until the 1953 armistice.
  When he returned to the Reserves, General McLain became Chief of 
Staff of the Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) in Oakdale, Pennsylvania. He 
obtained his promotion to Brigadier General in 1972, while serving as 
Deputy Commander of ARCOM.
  General McLain returned to active duty in 1974 with the Department of 
Defense Study Groups for Guard and Reserve. His induction into the 
Field Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 1976 capped a heavily 
decorated career that included the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star 
medal, the European Theater of Operations Medal with three campaign 
stars, the World War 11 victory medal, the Korean Service Medal with 
three campaign stars, and the United Nations Service medal. In August 
1977, General McLain retired after almost 37 years of active and 
reserve duty.
  General McLain was also an accomplished scholar. He held a Bachelor 
of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. 
He graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 
while he completed courses at the Army War College, National War 
College, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, as well as Yale, 
Michigan State, and Florida State Universities. He taught English 
grammar, composition, and literature at Admiral Farragut Academy (St. 
Petersburg, FL), St. Petersburg High School, Edgewood (PA) High School, 
Presbyterian Junior College, Florida State University, and the 
University of Pittsburgh, where he also taught the history of England.
  General McLain was a member-in-perpetuity of The Military Order of 
the World Wars and as a member of The Sons of the American Revolution. 
He maintained a lifetime membership of the Reserve Officers 
Association, The Military Officers Association. In 1990, he served as 
President of the Military Officers Association of Sarasota. General 
McLain also received a listing in Who's Who in America. Moreover, he 
received Booker High School's Senior Volunteer of the year award for 
the 1999-2000 school year.
  Mr. Speaker, while we lost General McLain on September 23, 2003, his 
greatest legacy lives on in the outstanding family he left behind. 
Patricia Ann, his loving and devoted wife of 50 years, and his four 
children will continue to honor their father through their exemplary 
contributions to our world.
  The dedication of this postal facility is the least that we can do to 
memorialize the extraordinary gift this gentleman and hero gave our 
nation in dedicating his entire life to protecting freedom, promoting 
education, and touching lives.

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