[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15761-15762]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    TEXAS' OLDEST ACTIVE LAWMAN--LOCAL LEGEND LIEUTENANT TOM MORGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 11, 2013

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, no one brings meaning to the phrase 
``Don't mess with Texas'' more than our lawmen. Every once in awhile, 
when I have the chance to escape from the Devil City, I get together 
with what I call the ``Poe-leece''. The Poe-leece are a group of my 
friends in the Texas law enforcement community. I have been friends 
with most of them since my days on the bench. When we all get together 
we like to exchange ``war stories''. The most seasoned veteran of them 
all is a man named Tom Morgan.
  Tom Morgan is the oldest active lawman in Texas. This year Tom turned 
93 years young. I first met Tom 25 years ago at the North Harris County 
Criminal Justice Association breakfast meeting in Humble. This 
sprightly veteran still has the same passion for our country and our 
military that he did the day he enlisted. Tom served three tours of 
duty, but that is not the only remarkable part of his career.
  Tom was born on September 20, 1920, in Bossier City, Louisiana, about 
twenty miles from the Texas border. He was a child of the Great 
Depression and grew up very poor. His town was very patriotic, 
especially since it was home to Barksdale Air Force Base.
  When World War II began, Tom was just 21 years old. He answered his 
country's call of duty to serve and joined the U.S. Marines. During 
this time, the United States' first major offensive was launched 
against Japan in the Guadalcanal. Japan was trying to solidify its 
stronghold on the Island of Guadalcanal, because of its closeness to 
Australia. The Japanese had built an airfield and had about 8,500 men 
on the island. Tom's first tour was in Guadalcanal, in the Solomon 
Islands, in August 1942. Sergeant Tom Morgan and the Marine Corps--
members of the Greatest Generation--secured the airfield and killed 
half the Japanese force. But the fierce fighting took three months. 
Conditions were harsh for our warriors--thick jungle, heavy rainfall, 
swamps, mud, mountainous terrain and a determined enemy. The Japanese 
sent in reinforcements during the ``Tokyo Express''; 4,000 of the enemy 
reached land. However, by February 1943, the U.S. marines took control 
of the island. Tom's unit played a pivotal part in the Battle of 
Guadalcanal. Over 1,500 American warriors were killed in action and 
4,000 injured; thousands contracted malaria--including Sergeant Tom 
Morgan. Tom later recalled that malaria had put him near death.
  He rested as much as he could and took the little yellow pill, 
Atabrine, which doctors prescribed. In the summer of 1944, Tom was sent 
to fight in the Battle of Saipan. Marines go where others fear to 
tread, and they fight for all American freedoms. They landed on the 
beaches of Saipan with a goal of gaining a crucial air base from which 
they could launch B-29 bombers. The Battle of Saipan was fierce and 
bloody; the enemy put up barbed wire along beaches and dug trenches to 
trap and ambush the marines.
  Our boys laid claim to the beachheads inch by bloody inch. Nearly 
30,000 Japanese soldiers died trying to defend the island and 3,426 
Americans were killed with 13,000 wounded. On July 8, 1944, the United 
States flag was raised in victory over Saipan, and Tom survived his 
second major battle.
  Less than a year later, Tom was sent to fight in the Battle of 
Okinawa, referred to as Operation Iceberg. This battle was the first 
time that U.S. troops fought on Japanese soil and it would be the 
bloodiest. Tom and the Marines were on board a transport ship Easter 
Sunday morning, 1945, eating breakfast in the mess hall when an enemy 
plane hit the ship. Water began filling up the mess hall and Tom 
thought he was going to meet his maker. However, the man above had 
different plans for Tom. The hatch flew open and he was able to escape. 
The marines went on to land in Okinawa. The battle lasted 82 days and 
was referred to as ``typhoon of steel''. American casualties were the 
highest experienced in any campaign against the Japanese. Battle 
casualties for the Japanese were 49,151, of which 12,520 were killed or 
missing and 36,631 wounded. Marine losses, including those of the 
Tactical Air Force, were 2,938 killed and missing and 13,708 wounded. 
On June 22, 1945, the United States flag was raised in victory over 
Okinawa and Tom survived his third battle.
  Not many Americans fought in all three battles of Guadalcanal, Saipan 
and Okinawa. Tom remained in the Marines until 1946 and continued his 
service in the Reserves; he even served three months in the Korean war. 
After the war, Tom enrolled at the University of Louisiana to pursue 
his degree in mechanical engineering. During that same year, he decided 
to pay a visit to an old friend in Houston, Texas. It was there he met 
a Texas beauty; her friends called her Pat. Tom told me he fell in love 
with Pat at first sight. He immediately decided to move to Texas, 
transferred to the University of Houston, and married Pat the following 
year. He finished college, became a pipeline engineer and designer and 
began a family. He and his wife, Pat, raised three children in their 
home in Pasadena, Texas. He retired from Gulf Interstate Engineering in 
1982, at the age of 62.
  Now this is where I would normally say. ``And that's just the way it 
is.'' But, Tom's story is not over. Ten years after retirement, Tom 
decided to join the Harris County Sheriff's Office Reserve Command. At 
first, Pat was not too happy. He told Pat he was tired of following her 
around the grocery store and that he needed to be busy. So at the age 
of 72, he graduated from the Harris County Sheriff Office Academy and 
became the oldest rookie.
  Today, Lieutenant Tom Morgan is assigned to the HCSO Marine Division 
where he patrols the waters of Lake Houston, San Jacinto River and the 
Ship Channel. Once a Marine, always a Marine. As a reserve deputy he 
works at least 500 hours a year. He conducts boat safety inspections 
and boat stops to enforce all aspects of boating law.
  For 21 years, he has put on the badge and a gun to protect and serve 
the people of Harris County that he loves. He patrols the Ship Channel, 
where he works closely with Homeland Security at the Port of Houston.

[[Page 15762]]

  Retire? Not Tom. Again, let me remind you. Tom is 93 years old. Tom 
is the oldest lawman in Texas.
  In 2008, Tom's Texas beauty, Pat, passed away. Tom and Pat were 
married for 61 years. It's been five years since her passing; Tom told 
me not a day goes by that he doesn't miss his Pat. He says it's good 
for him to stay busy: working, volunteering at his church, spending 
time with his three children who all live in the Houston area and 
enjoying his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  Ronald Reagan best summed it up when he said, ``Some people spend an 
entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't 
have that problem.'' And Tom definitely does not have that problem.
  Soon, Sheriff Adrian Garcia of Harris County, Texas, will recognize 
Lieutenant Tom Morgan with the Lifetime Achievement Award. A fitting 
honor for a remarkable man. Semper Fi! Oooh Rah! Marine and Texas 
Lawman--Tom Morgan.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________