[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15031]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE OF SECOND LIEUTENANT JAMES Des 
                                 JARDIN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. REID J. RIBBLE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 19, 2012

  Mr. RIBBLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a fallen hero who has 
finally come home. Our experience is different than it would have been 
had Second Lieutenant James Des Jardin been found in 1944. James' 
parents had already buried one son, and now would have been burying 
another. Grief and sadness was the companion for this family on that 
December day in 1944.
  Just three days after Christmas, the family was told of James missing 
in action with a letter. And I think you should know that similar 
letters were sent to over 73,000 families during the war saying that 
their loved one was missing. Our nation paid a heavy price to bring 
freedom to the world.
  I cannot imagine the horror of hearing that news. More than that, I 
cannot fathom the uncertainty of a family not knowing. James' brother 
Earl, a bomber pilot, had already been killed in service to our 
country, in France just two months before, and now another son was 
missing.
  Was James a POW? Was he hiding in Germany and working his way home? 
Did he perish that day? Or later? These are the questions that no 
parent, no brother or sister or son or daughter ever wants to ask. But 
these questions had to be asked. They provided hope. They provided 
encouragement. . . . but they also provide doubt and despair.
  The questions certainly lingered. The sacrifice of the family, 
quietly held in their hearts and thoughts, and the yearning to know. 
December 28, 1944, and the years that followed, certainly brought 
heartache, that unless you have experienced it personally must have 
been difficult to understand.
  So finally today brings closure. We get to lay to rest Second 
Lieutenant James Des Jardin--An American hero. Today we get to thank a 
family for their sacrifice. Today we get to, and I know this is a bit 
odd to say and maybe a bit odd for you to hear, but today we get to 
celebrate a hero and a hero's family. We as a community join with this 
family to share not just in grief but in joy of knowing our hero is 
finally home.
  It's certainly different today than it would have been for the Des 
Jardin family in 1944. Today instead of mourning a fallen hero we 
celebrate his homecoming.
  Today the family's questions have been answered and so have ours. 
Today an American hero is welcomed home and laid to rest. May God Bless 
the family and in His time provide the same closure for our Nation's 
other MIA families.
  Thank you to the Des Jardin family for your sacrifice and thank you 
for including me today.

                          ____________________