[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18020-18021]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO COLONEL BILL GORDON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MARILYN N. MUSGRAVE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 27, 2007

  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Retired Army Col. 
Bill Gordon of Fort Collins, Colorado.
  Later today Colonel Gordon will receive the National Order of the 
Legion of Honor from the Government of France in recognition of his 
distinguished record of military service in France during World War II. 
The Legion of Honor is the highest honor conferred upon French citizens 
and foreign nationals by the French Government.
  After playing on UCLA's first football team to compete in the Rose 
Bowl, Bill Gordon was commissioned through UCLA's Army ROTC Program in 
1943. Following the 1944 D-Day invasion, Lieutenant Gordon was assigned 
as a replacement platoon leader in B Company of the 82nd Airborne 
Division's 507th Regiment.

[[Page 18021]]

  In December 1944, the 507th was assigned to an area along the Meuse 
River just east of Nouzonville, France, to meet the onslaught of a 
German surprise attack in the Ardennes. After the Battle of the Bulge, 
Lieutenant Gordon was seriously injured during a parachute jump near 
the important German industrial City of Essen.
  After the war Lieutenant Gordon was placed on reserve status in 1946, 
but was reappointed to the regular Army in 1949. Over the course of his 
30-year career in the Army, Colonel Gordon served in both Korea and 
Vietnam. Among his many decorations are the Distinguished Service 
Medal, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with V, 
two Purple Hearts, 14 Air Medals with V, and the Defense Meritorious 
Service Medal.
  Following his distinguished military career, Colonel Gordon and his 
family settled in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he served as Director 
of the Larimer County Emergency Management System and as Larimer County 
Administrator.
  The sacrifices he made to ensure the liberty and freedom of future 
generations will never be forgotten.
  Madam Speaker, like so many other young members of this Greatest 
Generation, Colonel Gordon set aside his ambitions and risked his life 
to ensure the continued freedom of our great nation. I am both humbled 
by his selflessness and incredibly proud of his heroic patriotism. As 
he receives recognition today from the Government of France, I urge my 
colleagues in this House to join me in extending our gratitude to 
Colonel Bill Gordon.

                          ____________________