[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7514-7515]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JAMES CECIL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, today I wish to honor Mr. James 
Cecil, who is believed to be the last living member of the 729th 
Platoon of the 2nd Marine Division, known as the Lexington Platoon. Mr. 
Cecil and 69 other men from the central Kentucky area formed the 
Platoon in 1942, 8 months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. 
These young men went on to fight in some of the bloodiest battles of 
the Pacific, including in Okinawa, Saipan, Tinian, and Guadalcanal.
  The Lexington Platoon was honored on Thursday, May 17 at the 
Lexington Urban City Council meeting, with Mr. Cecil being the only 
member present. Lexington Mayor Jim Gray proclaimed it James Cecil Day, 
and Councilman Jay McChord spoke about his interviews with Mr. Cecil 
while writing his 2010 book, A Veteran's Legacy: Field Kit Journal.
  James Cecil grew up on a tobacco farm, and chose to join the Marines 
when the United States entered the war rather than being drafted. He 
was promoted from private to corporal after killing a Japanese officer 
and obtaining his map of artillery positions, and received a Purple 
Heart for injuries suffered during the battle of Saipan in June 1944.
  Although Mr. Cecil was recommended for officer candidate school in 
August 1945, he never got the chance to attend, as in the weeks 
following, the United States bombed Japan, thus ending World War II.
  After his service, Mr. Cecil moved to Ohio and became the owner of a 
successful trucking company. He moved back to Lexington after the death 
of his wife, Janet, in 1988. Today, Mr. Cecil is in good health and 
still often reflects on his wartime experiences. He says that he feels 
``honored and proud that [he] served [his] country.''
  I would like to ask at this time for my colleagues in the U.S. Senate 
to join me in recognizing Mr. James Cecil for his brave service to our 
Nation during World War II. There was recently an article published in 
the Lexington Herald-Leader highlighting Mr. Cecil's valorous service 
and his platoon's legacy. I ask unanimous consent that said article be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record as follows:

            [From the Lexington Herald-Leader, May 15, 2012]

     Sole Surviving Marines' Lexington Platoon Member To Be Honored

                             (By Tom Eblen)

       Eight months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, 
     hundreds of people gathered around the steps of the Fayette 
     County Courthouse to honor James T. Cecil and 69 other local 
     boys.
       The recent graduates of Henry Clay, Lafayette and other 
     central Kentucky high schools were forming the Lexington 
     Platoon of the United States Marine Corps. Mayor T. Ward 
     Havely and other dignitaries spoke at the mass-induction 
     ceremony. A young lady sang the Marine Hymn, and women and 
     children wept, the Lexington Herald and Leader reported in 
     late August 1942.
       Platoon members left in buses that day for processing in 
     Louisville and training in San Diego. From there, they joined 
     some of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater: 
     Okinawa, Saipan, Tinian and Guadalcanal.
       The Lexington Platoon will be honored again Thursday at the 
     Urban County Council meeting. This time, Cecil, 88, will be 
     the only platoon member present. ``As best we can tell, I'm 
     the only one left,'' he said.
       Mayor Jim Gray will present a proclamation declaring James 
     Cecil Day. Councilman Jay McChord will speak about how he met 
     Cecil and other World War II veterans while writing and 
     illustrating his 2010 book, A Veteran's Legacy: Field Kit 
     Journal.
       ``We're losing so many of these guys every day, it's good 
     any time we can honor them,'' McChord said. ``We need to 
     remind ourselves of who they are and what they did.''
       Cecil and Mitch Alcorn, his Lafayette High School buddy and 
     the longtime Midway postmaster, began tracking down their 
     fellow Lexington Platoon members several years ago, searching 
     the Internet and running ads in veterans magazines.
       By this time last year, the group had dwindled to the two 
     of them and Elwood Watkins, who earned a Silver Star and 
     three Purple Hearts in battle. Watkins died July 12. Alcorn, 
     who earned a Purple Heart and later fought in the Korean and 
     Vietnam wars as an Army officer, died February 18.
       Cecil grew up on a tobacco farm off Nicholasville Road. 
     ``We didn't have any money, but we had plenty to eat,'' he 
     said. ``We had milk cows, chickens and a big garden.''
       When the war came, he decided to join the Marines rather 
     than wait to be drafted. After training, platoon members were 
     scattered to various units of the 2nd Marine Division, 
     although Cecil served alongside Alcorn and a few others from 
     Lexington. ``We were just like a big family,'' he said.
       As I talked with Cecil last week, he pulled out a small 
     envelope. Inside was a portrait of a Japanese officer he 
     killed, and money and a ration card he found in the officer's 
     pocket. That wasn't all: The officer was carrying a map of 
     artillery positions, a find that got Cecil promoted from 
     private to corporal.
       Cecil earned a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in the 
     battle of Saipan on June 20, 1944. He survived several 
     Japanese suicide attacks on his camps at night.
       ``The next morning you couldn't walk without walking on a 
     dead Marine or a dead Japanese,'' he said.
       At the battle of Okinawa, a Japanese suicide pilot hit the 
     USS Hinsdale before Cecil's unit could land on the beach. 
     Cecil spent 45 minutes in the cold water, watching for 
     sharks, before a Navy destroyer rescued him.
       ``We had so many killed and wounded,'' Cecil said. ``Every 
     battle, you just didn't know who was going to be next.''

[[Page 7515]]

       Cecil's only trip stateside came in August 1945, when he 
     was recommended for officer candidate school. Before he could 
     begin, though, U.S. forces dropped atomic bombs on Japan, and 
     World War II ended.
       After the war, Cecil had a successful career as the owner 
     of an Ohio-based trucking company. He moved back to Lexington 
     after Janet, his wife of 52 years, died in 1998. In his 
     apartment, he proudly displays photos of her, their sons and 
     their grandsons.
       Cecil's health is good, his mind sharp. He finds himself 
     thinking a lot these days about his wartime experiences, 
     including the occasional nightmare with Japanese soldiers 
     ``getting after me.''
       ``I just felt honored and proud that I served my country,'' 
     Cecil said. ``Coming off a tobacco patch and going into 
     battle, that was a hell of a change. We were just a bunch of 
     brave boys.''

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