[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 12973]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING SERGEANT AUBIE L. ATKINS, JR.

 Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I wish to honor and recognize SGT 
Aubie L. Atkins, Jr., for making the ultimate sacrifice in service to 
our country. Nearly 67 years after his death in WWII, he will be home 
for good and laid to rest next to his parents in their Claiborne Parish 
town of Athens. I would like to take a few moments to speak of his 
courage and heroism.
  Atkins grew up in Athens, LA, and attended Louisiana Tech University 
for 1 year before enlisting in the Army in 1941. He was trained in 
communications and assigned to the crew of a B-25 Mitchell bomber in 
the 405th Bombardment Squadron in the southwestern Pacific. Atkins, 
along with seven other crew members, took off aboard a bomber nicknamed 
``The Happy Legend'' from Port Moresby on a mission to bomb Buna on 
December 5, 1942. Unfortunately, their plane went down and disappeared 
near the Kokoda Pass, Papua New Guinea. Military authorities believed 
the plane was shot down by the Japanese during a bombing run. The crew 
was declared dead, and all were memorialized on the tablets of the 
missing at Manila American Cemetery, Philippines, by the American 
Battle Monuments Commission.
  Members of the 1st Australian Corps found the crash in February 1943 
along with the pilot's remains and Atkins' identification tags, but 
because enemy troops remained in the vicinity, the allied soldiers had 
to abandon the site. Several attempts were launched to retrieve 
wreckage and the airmen's remains, but the wreckage was in a water-
filled crater making it too difficult and dangerous. But, in 2005 
Atkins' remains were identified using DNA that was donated in 2007 by 
his last surviving sibling, just months before her own death.
  There is no doubt that December 5, 1942, was a tragic day, not only 
for the families of the fallen crew members but also for the B-25 
family, the community, and the Nation. On Saturday, May 16, Sergeant 
Atkins was properly buried with full military honors, including a jet 
flyover and a 21-gun salute. Although all of Atkins' seven siblings are 
deceased, three subsequent generations were present to honor and pay 
their respects.
  Thus, today, I honor the memory of fellow Louisianan Aubrey Atkins, 
Jr., and thank him for his devotion and service to our country.

                          ____________________