[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING NIS NISSEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 2009

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Nis 
Nissen upon being named as a ``Distinguished Life Member'' by the 
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 9896. Mr. Nissen was honored on 
Saturday, January 31, 2009.
  Mr. Nissen was born in Santa Monica, California in October 1948. He 
graduated from Mira Costa High School and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 
July 1968. He completed Navy boot camp in San Diego. After a brief 
training period, he was designated as an engineman and was sent to join 
thousands of American service members fighting the North Vietnamese. He 
was assigned to the USS Tutuila, a 442-foot length, Luzon Internal 
Combustion Engine Repair Shop. The USS Tutuila functioned as a repair 
ship for the hundreds of small armed craft, or swift boats, used by the 
U.S. Navy and their South Vietnamese counterparts in patrolling the 
numerous inland and coastal waterways. Mr. Nissen and his fellow 
sailors worked around the clock to keep the swift boats functioning. 
They were often responsible for towing boats out of hostile areas and 
transporting wounded sailors to safety.
  During his service on the USS Tutuila, Mr. Nissen became interested 
in the work of the medical staff and became a ``striker'' for a rating 
as a dental technician. He served fifteen months in Vietnam and upon 
his return to the U.S. he completed training for a dental technician. 
After dental school he was assigned to the medical facility at the 
Naval Air Station at Lemoore, California. He was later transferred to 
Naval Air Station at Kodiak Island, Alaska. He completed his active 
duty service in 1972.
  Upon discharge, Mr. Nissen served as a civilian employee at the U.S. 
Air Force radar tracking station on Kodiak Island where they tracked 
Soviet aircraft and missiles. He received an honorable discharge as a 
Dental Technician third class. He was awarded the National Defense 
Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with three stars and the 
Vietnam Campaign with Device. Today, Mr. Nissen is the owner-broker of 
Old West Realty in Chowchilla. He has served as a charter member of the 
City of Chowchilla Historical Preservation Commission, is a life member 
of Chowchilla Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, 9896 and is a member of 
the Masons.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Nis Nissen 
upon being named as a ``Distinguished Life Member'' by the Veterans of 
Foreign Wars, Post 9896. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing 
Mr. Nissen many years of continued success.

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