[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 22]
[Senate]
[Page 30544]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               GENE BOYT

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I stand today to pay tribute to a 
great American and a great Oklahoman. Gene Boyt was a member of our 
Nation's ``Greatest Generation'' and served his country during World 
War II in the United States Army. He died at the age of eighty-six in 
Chickasha, OK.
  After being assigned to the Philippines as a lieutenant in the 
Engineering Corps, he was taken captive by the Japanese on April 9, 
1942. As a prisoner, he was forced to march 90 miles in 6 days in what 
has become known as the Bataan Death March. The prisoners marched 
without food or water, and many were executed or died along the way 
from exhaustion and dehydration. After surviving the grueling journey, 
Lieutenant Boyt spent 3\1/2\ years in Japanese prisons.
  Gene Boyt knew what persecution meant. He knew what it meant to stand 
up for the cause of freedom, for the honor and integrity of the United 
States. Gene Boyt knew what it meant to defend this country from 
enemies determined to destroy it. He knew what it meant to suffer for 
what he believed.
  I stand today proud to be an American because men like Gene Boyt 
lived and died protecting that right. He was awarded the Purple Heart, 
the Bronze Star, three Presidential Citations, the Philippines's 
Presidential Citation Medal, and the Oklahoma Medal of Valor. He 
deserves to be honored once again today on the Senate floor.
  Today I stand in tribute to one of Oklahoma's favorite sons, a great 
American hero and devoted family man. Gene Boyt sacrificed everything 
for his country, and I am sure that his family is proud of this great 
man, and the legacy he left behind. The thoughts and prayers of a 
grateful Nation are with them during this difficult time.

                          ____________________