[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 26771]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                        LOUISIANA WWII VETERANS

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to pay 
tribute to a group of 96 World War II veterans from the Acadiana region 
of Louisiana that is making their way to Washington this weekend. Here 
they will visit the World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Marine Corps 
memorials as well as Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the 
Tomb of the Unknowns.
  The trip to the Nation's Capital this Saturday is being paid for by 
group in Lafayette, LA, called Louisiana HonorAir. The organization is 
honoring each surviving Louisiana veteran by giving them a chance to 
see the memorials dedicated to their service. So far this year, there 
have been two trips to these Washington memorials and three more are 
planned, including this one.
  World War II was the deadliest conflict in our history. More than 60 
million people worldwide were killed, including 40 million civilians, 
and more than 400,000 American servicemembers were slain during the 
long war.
  In Louisiana, there remain today about 44,000 living WWII veterans, 
and every one of them has their own heroic tale of their experience in 
achieving a noble victory of freedom over tyranny.
  Mervin Harmon from Lafayette was one of the Tuskegee Airmen, our 
country's first African American pilots. While serving his country, he 
had to endure the racism that was prevalent in our society during that 
era. Mervin, who is 80 now, joined the service at 18, becoming a 
mechanic and crew chief at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He 
oversaw the P-51 Mustang fighters the Airmen flew during the war, 
ensuring that planes were safe for battle. When Mervin trained at Ft. 
Smith in Arkansas, he remembers German prisoners of war eating in 
restaurants while black MPs guarding them were not allowed to be 
served.
  Mervin and the other Tuskegee airmen helped our country bridge the 
racial divide. He went on to serve in Lafayette Parish government for 
14 years and had an upholstery business in the city.
  I ask the Senate to join me in honoring Mervin Harmon, the other 95 
Louisiana heroes we welcome to Washington this weekend, and Louisiana 
HonorAir for making these trips a reality.

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