[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26311]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING DUDLEY OF SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 29, 2009

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my 
colleague, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, to honor the woman known to 
hundreds of Sonoma County veterans as simply ``Dudley.'' Dudley 
recently retired as a county Veterans Service Officer after more than 
37 years and is taking with her the respect and admiration of a 
grateful nation.
  Dudley is herself a veteran, joining the Army directly out of high 
school in 1962. She describes this period of her life as ``the best 
thing that ever happened to her.'' It was during this time that she 
developed her lifelong appreciation for and dedication to the men and 
women who serve our country in uniform.
  A six-and-a-half year stint as a flight attendant for several 
airlines that declared bankruptcy left her stranded and unemployed in 
Sonoma County. To the good fortune of every veteran in the area, she 
soon found work as a clerk typist in the Veterans Service Office in 
1972. Four short years later, she was promoted to a Veterans Claim 
Worker and from that point forward, became the champion of every 
veteran with whom she worked.
  She was one of the first to recognize that Post Traumatic Stress 
Disorder was severely affecting the ability of many of our veterans to 
fully function after returning from combat. She worked relentlessly 
with the Department of Veterans Affairs and within the county veteran's 
service organizations to have PTSD recognized as a disability and was 
eventually successful.
  Throughout her 37-year career, she has given specialized training 
presentations at the state and national level on procedures for filing 
claims with the VA for specific disabilities. She has been honored and 
recognized for her work by the Vietnam Veterans of America, receiving 
the organization's highest honor, the Commendation Medal, in 1999. The 
California State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America presented her 
with its Member of the Year award in 2000.
  Dudley also served the veterans community by organizing the United 
Veterans Parade Committee to participate with floats and veterans 
groups in Santa Rosa's largest civic parade and by organizing the 
United Veterans Council POW/MIA ceremony to honor former prisoners of 
war and those missing in action from Sonoma County.
  Madam Speaker, Dudley is a living example that one person can make a 
difference. There is no greater champion of veterans in our two 
Congressional Districts and it is therefore appropriate that we honor 
and express our gratitude to her today and wish her well in her 
retirement.

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