[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
             IN MEMORY OF SERGEANT FIRST CLASS GEORGE KOON

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last Saturday I had the 
honor of attending a memorial service celebrating the life of Sergeant 
First Class George Walter Koon. Sergeant Koon was a soldier of the 
United States Army Infantry during the Korean War. He was a POW 
murdered while in captivity in 1951, but his body remained unrecovered 
for over half a century. It was not until recently that the hard work 
of his family and the Department of Defense helped positively identify 
Sergeant Koon and return him from North Korea to his family in 
Leesville, South Carolina.
  The life and story of Sergeant Koon is an example of tremendous 
courage and commitment. His brother Reverend Carl Koon correctly stated 
that ``freedom isn't cheap and it isn't free.'' His sacrifice and that 
of his fellow American soldiers will never be forgotten to liberate 
dozens of countries so that more people today live in free market 
democracy than ever in the history of the world.
  The memorial service was conducted by Reverend John McKeown and 
Reverend George A. Koon, nephew namesake of the deceased hero, at the 
Old Lexington Baptist Church of Leesville. He received full military 
honors.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th.

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