[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO GARLAND RASH

 Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, today I would like to share with you 
Garland Rash's inspiring story of bravery and determination that saw 
him use his remarkable talent for woodwork to serve his country during 
the dark days of World War II.
  Born in 1924, Garland was raised in Drew County, AR, where he put 
himself through school and developed an interest in carpentry. Like so 
many other Americans, he was horrified at the attack on Pearl Harbor in 
1941 and immediately set out to aid in the country's war effort. This 
led him to California, where he dedicated himself to building wooden 
racks that could be used to raise ships out of the water to be 
repaired.
  Garland soon realized during a visit home on Mother's Day in 1943 
that he wanted to do more for his county. That summer, he enlisted in 
the Navy and underwent a grueling period in boot camp. Garland was then 
assigned to the 116th Naval Battalion as part of the construction unit 
of the Navy, nicknamed the ``Seebees.''
  After more training in Rhode Island and Bay St. Louis, Garland was 
shipped to Pearl Harbor where he, alongside many other talented 
carpenters, was part of a covert operation to equip U.S. military 
planes with a more advanced type of engine. While there, Garland 
decided to collect several pieces of wood and Plexiglas from the debris 
of the 1941 bombing. During his nonworking hours, Garland used these 
pieces to fashion two wooden boxes, using parachute scraps for the 
lining and Plexiglas from windshields to create a beautiful inlaid 
mosaic pattern on the lid.
  While in Pearl Harbor, a young marine named Bob Crosby, brother of 
famed singer Bing Crosby, was struck by the workmanship of these boxes. 
He asked Garland whether he would be willing to sell one to him and 
Garland agreed. Though Garland never saw him again, Bob Crosby would go 
on to become an accomplished actor and musician through the 1950s.
  Garland continued his distinguished military service in Iwo Jima, the 
Philippines, and Japan where he and his fellow American troops accepted 
the surrender of Japanese forces in 1945. After returning to the United 
States in December of that year, Garland resumed his relationship with 
Kathleen Lawson, a woman he had dated while on leave from the Navy 
during the war. They were married on March 1, 1946.
  Today, their home in Monticello, AR, is filled with loving pictures 
of several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Remarkably, Garland 
managed to hold on to the other wooden box that he carved from the 
rubble of Pearl Harbor and keeps it today as a remembrance of the war 
and his service.
  Looking at this box today, I, like Bob Crosby so many years ago, am 
amazed by the extraordinary craftsmanship, and I am awestruck knowing 
its historical significance. Garland, like so many World War II 
veterans, is truly a part of the ``greatest American generation'' and I 
hope you will join me in paying tribute to his extraordinary service to 
this Nation.

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