[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6061]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING JUDGE JOHN DE GROOT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2010

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and 
congratulate Judge John De Groot upon being awarded with the ``Lifetime 
Achievement Award'' by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 9896. Judge 
De Groot was honored on Saturday, January 30, 2010 in Chowchilla, 
California.
  Judge John De Groot was born and raised in Monterey, California. He 
graduated from Monterey High School in 1965 and enlisted in the United 
States Naval Reserve. He graduated from Navy boot camp at the San Diego 
Recruit Training Center. Judge De Groot was designated a Military 
Occupational Specialty as a Personnelman. While in the Reserve, he 
attended Monterey Peninsula College, earning an Associate in Arts 
degree in 1967 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State 
in 1969.
  Upon graduating from San Francisco State, Judge De Groot was called 
to active duty and assigned to the Naval Air Station in Adak, Alaska. 
The Navy had taken over the former World War II Army Airfield at Adak 
and was using the facility as a deployment base for P-3 Orion maritime 
patrol aircraft. The mission of NAS Adak and its aircraft was the 
conduct of antisubmarine warfare operations against submarines and 
surveillance of naval vessels of the Soviet Union. After serving twelve 
months in Adak, his next duty station was aboard the USS Hancock, 
positioned in the waters off of Vietnam.
  The USS Hancock was the first carrier in the fleet with steam 
catapults capable of launching high performance jets. The carrier was 
deployed in 1965 to join the Seventh Fleet as hostilities increased in 
Vietnam. While aboard the USS Hancock, Judge De Groot worked in the 
administrative center of the carrier; he prepared official documents 
for transmission to higher echelons, kept records, interviewed and 
counseled sailors, and maintained official officer and enlisted 
records. One of his most important abilities was his skill with working 
and dealing with a wide range of personalities of men involved in 
combat and the ongoing operations of an aircraft carrier in a war zone.
  In 1971, Judge De Groot was released from active duty. For his 
service he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam 
Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with device and the Naval 
Reserve Meritorious Service Medal.
  In May 1974, Judge De Groot graduated from Hastings College of Law in 
San Francisco with a Juris Doctor degree. Later that year, he was 
admitted to the California Bar and to the U.S. District Court, Northern 
District of California. He was employed as a police officer in San 
Mateo, California from 1975 until 1977 when he left the Bay Area to 
accept a position as Deputy District Attorney in Madera County. In July 
1982, he became Judge, Justice Court, of the Chowchilla Judicial 
District. Eight years later, Judge De Groot was elected to Judge of the 
Superior Court, Madera County and served in that position until his 
retirement in December, 2008.
  Judge De Groot is a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 
9896 and is currently serving as the Treasurer of the Chowchilla 
District Historical Society. He and his wife, Jeannie, live in Madera. 
They have three children and nine grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Judge John De 
Groot 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 Judge De Groot many years of continued success.

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