[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18174]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     LAMONT MEAUX--HARD CORE TEXAN

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2012

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, service to God and country are the 
most honorable accomplishments and contributions that a person can make 
in life. Those who choose the path are the few, the bold, the brave, 
and the courageous. Today I am proud to honor decorated soldier, 
successful business owner, and devoted family man Lamont Meaux for his 
work on behalf of his country and his community.
  Lamont Edward Meaux has known the cost of service to one's country 
since the day he was born. On September 2, 1945, his father Clifton 
Meaux, who was serving his country in the United States Navy at the end 
of the Second World War, received a telegraph with 6 simple words that 
would change his life forever: ``Son born, Mom and baby ok.'' This 
sense of purpose and sacrifice would go on to define Lamont's life.
  As a young child, Lamont's family moved from Beaumont, TX, to the 
Winnie-Stowell area of South East Texas. Farming is the main economic 
activity in the area, and Lamont would learn at an early age that he 
possessed quite the green thumb. Before the age of 10, he was growing 
and selling tomatoes for 17 cents a pound. He is still happy to share 
his secrets with anyone who will listen. Lamont would also spend time 
working in the abundant oil fields across Southeast Texas before 
graduating from East Chambers High School in Winnie, Texas.
  His success growing tomatoes made Lamont a natural fit for Texas A&M 
University. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets Company C-2, whose 
motto ``Our family is our strength'' is very appropriate. As a proud 
Aggie, Lamont would drive his ``Old Blue'' car to as many football 
games as possible, both home and away. He would earn his BS in 
Industrial Distribution in 1968 and a week later married JoRella White.
  Upon graduation, the United States was entrenched in the Vietnam War. 
Knowing that he would be called to duty, Lamont did all he could to 
protect his family while he was gone. He worked for a few months at an 
engineering firm in Dallas and even sold his Texas A&M Senior Boots. 
Senior Boots are the most prized possession of any Aggie. In May of 
1968, as a member of the United States Army, he left for Fort Benning 
in Georgia for Officer's Infantry School. The next year he took off to 
Panama to train at the Jungle Operations Training Center to prepare him 
for conditions unlike anything he could see in Southeast Texas. His 
grandsons love to hear how he was taught worms and bugs and jungle 
survival.
  Lamont was then ready for deployment as 1st Lieutenant of the United 
States Army's 199th Light Infantry Brigade. While he was being 
transported to his assignment in Vietnam, Lamont was asked if he knew 
the average life span of an Infantry Lieutenant in ``The Country.'' He 
was shocked to hear ``27 seconds'' but continued on, determined to 
serve his country to the best of his ability. Lt. Meaux fought in the 
hot steamy jungles of Vietnam against America's enemy. He doesn't talk 
much about what he saw. He does remind those at home that a lot of good 
men served with him. Some returned. Some returned with wounds of war. 
Some did not return. According to a man who served under him, Lamont 
``was a good soldier's officer who cared and felt for his men, but 
still served his country as an officer and a gentleman.'' He was known 
as a leader who would do anything to protect his men.
  When Lt. Meaux returned to America he, like most Vietnam veterans, 
was treated badly by Americans who did not serve America. In February 
of 1970, Lamont would be discharged from the United States Army with 
numerous honors. He was awarded a National Defense Service Medal, 
Vietnam Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Second Oak Leaf Cluster, and 
two Over Seas Bars. When asked why he did not put in for the Purple 
Heart, Lamont responded that there were others he sent out in the 
jungle that came back with more serious injuries. One souvenir he was 
proud to bring home was a telegram with the same 6 words that his 
father brought back: ``Son born, Mom and baby ok.'' They would have 3 
sons before the marriage ended in 1994. Those sons were Edward, 
Terrell, and David. Lamont would remain a member of the Army Reserves 
through 1974.
  The heroic service Lamont made during his time in the Vietnam War 
lined him up for a promotion to Captain, but his heart belonged to his 
family back in Southeast Texas. He returned home and took up what was 
natural to him--farming. For the next 25 years, he would farm rice, 
wheat, soy beans, and milo, at one time up to 3,000 acres. Mr. Speaker, 
I probably represent more rice farmers than any other member in Texas. 
Let me tell you, rice farming is hard intense working of the land.
  Lamont Meaux's ingenuity was not confined to the battlefield or the 
farm. In 1976, Lamont saw the need for some corrugated metal drainage 
pipes on the farm. Thinking big, he ordered a train load, used what he 
needed and sold the rest to the other farmers in the area. This is the 
beginning of Seabreeze Culvert, Inc. Lamont would eventually start 
designing his own drainage control structures, turning Seabreeze from a 
simple agricultural dealer to a respected creative solution provider 
for industrial, environmental, commercial, and municipal areas. He 
would go on to create Seabreeze Chemical, Inc., to provide cheaper 
products for the local farmers as well as raising chickens as Seabreeze 
Farm.
  Lamont is a vital part of the community as well. He is a member of 
the Winnie Chamber of Commerce, Society of Professional Engineers, 
Texas Farm Bureau, and Corps of Cadets Association at Texas A&M. Meaux 
is Master Chairman for the Beaumont A&M Club, board member of the East 
Chambers Agricultural Historical Society, and committee member of the 
Regional Advisory Council of the General Land Office. Lamont is a past 
member of the American Rice Growers Association, American Soybean 
Association, and American Rice Growers Exchange.
  A lifelong interest in politics paid off for Lamont in a much 
unexpected way. In 1997, Hazel, a staffer working on Kay Bailey 
Hutchison's U.S. Senate campaign, heard about a former Aggie much like 
herself that was very politically minded. They met at a Beaumont A&M 
Club meeting in 1997 and hit it off instantly. They bonded over the 
Aggies, and whiskey, and politics, and the rest, as they say, is Texas 
history. Hazel gave Lamont the birthday present of a lifetime when they 
married on September 2, 1999.
  Lamont Meaux has dedicated his life to serving his country and his 
community, and they are both better places because of him. Lamont Meaux 
is as Texan as they come. He is vocal, opinionated, and a hard core 
patriot that never forgets honor, duty, country. I am honored and 
privileged to call Lamont Meaux a close friend. Thank you Lamont Meaux 
for serving our nation and the great State of Texas.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________