[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21715]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE LIFE OF FORMER CONGRESSMAN JOEL T. BROYHILL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 2006

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life of the late Joel T. Broyhill, former Congressman for Virginia's 
10th district.
  Congressman Broyhill was born in Hopewell, Virginia on November 4, 
1919. His family moved to Arlington in 1937, when his father relocated 
his building and real estate firm, M.T. Broyhill and Sons, to the area. 
He attended Fork Union Military Academy as well as George Washington 
University.
  Before he took his seat in the House of Representatives in 1953, 
Congressman Broyhill served in World War II, where he became a 
decorated Captain and commanded a rifle company. During the Battle of 
the Bulge, he was captured by the Germans. However, he rejoined the 
advancing U.S. forces six months later after he and a fellow soldier 
escaped from a prisoner of war camp. Among his military awards was a 
Bronze Star.
  Upon his return from World War II, he joined his father's real estate 
firm, becoming a partner and general manager of the company. He was 
president of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the 
Arlington County Planning Commission and in 1950 was elected president 
of the Arlington Republican Club.
  In 1952, he won his seat in Congress on his 33rd birthday. 
Congressman Broyhill was known as an effective politician with a boyish 
grin and an easy conversational manner. A strong advocate for Federal 
workers and the postal service, Congressman Broyhill was especially 
well known for the way he attended to the needs of his constituents. 
The Washington Post accredited this personalized service to Congressman 
Broyhill's sense of kinship with his constituents stating, ``He is, 
simply, one of them. He is a war hero turned postwar booster, a hell-
of-a-fellow''.
  On a personal level, I cut my teeth working on Joel Broyhill's 
campaigns. I attended his election night parties at the Old Broyhill 
Building on Lee Highway and remember the long night in 1964 when he 
narrowly escaped the LBJ landslide, as well as his huge victory over 
Clive Duval in 1966, when he came on the stage and exclaimed ``How 
Sweet It Is''.
  After leaving office, Congressman Broyhill returned to his family's 
real estate and investment business, which developed several 
neighborhoods in Northern Virginia. He remained engaged in politics and 
served as campaign manager for John W. Warner's successful first 
campaign for Senate in 1978.
  Congressman Broyhill's first wife, Jane Marshall Bragg, died in 1978. 
He is survived by Suzanne Broyhill, his wife of 25 years; three 
daughters, Nancy, Jane and Jeanne; a stepdaughter Kimberly; four 
grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to pay tribute to the life and 
work of Congressman Joel T. Broyhill, and express my deepest 
condolences to all who knew and loved him.

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