[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26835]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


  RECOGNIZING KATHARINE PHILLIPS SINGER, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA, FOR HER 
                   CONTRIBUTIONS DURING WORLD WAR II

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 4, 2007

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to rise today 
to recognize a true Southern lady who, over the course of the past few 
weeks, has become a familiar face and distinctive voice throughout 
America, Mrs. Katharine Phillips Singer of Mobile, AL.
  Her story, which is told in the Ken Burns' highly-acclaimed 
documentary, ``The War,'' represents the significant sacrifices--and 
obvious concerns--of millions of American families whose loved ones 
were fighting the forces of evil during the Second World War.
  Whether it was rationing food by cooking without essential 
ingredients, saving tin cans or purchasing war bonds, World War II was 
a time when all Americans were called upon to do their part to 
contribute to America's success.
  Young Katharine was just a sophomore at Auburn University when the 
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and her 17-year-old brother, Sidney 
Phillips, signed up for the Marines. Upon graduating in 1944, she 
returned to Mobile and began working in a day care center for shipyard 
workers' children. She volunteered at the Red Cross canteen at the 
railroad station and served coffee and donuts to the troops aboard 
trains as they passed through town. She also volunteered with the Red 
Cross motor pool and regularly drove officers around town.
  At the end of the war, Katharine began working as a stewardess for 
Waterman Airlines. In 1947, she married Harvey Singer, a Waterman pilot 
and former WWII naval pilot. They lived in Ohio for many years and 
returned to Mobile in 1970. The mother of 2 daughters and the 
grandmother of 4, Mrs. Singer runs her own antique linen business in 
Mobile.
  Madam Speaker, the recognition of Mrs. Katharine Phillips Singer in 
``The War'' provides us all with an appropriate time to pause and thank 
her and all of the concerned families who shared their loved ones with 
the world during this trying time.
  Not only did she provide an intimate story of what it was like here 
at home during the war, but along the way she became a prominent 
storyteller for a documentary that I believe should be required 
watching in every school in America. I urge my colleagues to take a 
moment to pay tribute to Mrs. Katharine Phillips Singer for her love of 
family and love of country.

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