[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9734]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING CAPTAIN WILLIAM HALL DAVISON

  Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, on the evening of June 8, this past 
Sunday, in Gainesville, GA, CAPT William Hall Davison, U.S. Navy 
retired, passed away.
  It was a significant day in our family for many reasons. He is my 
wife's father. He is my children's grandfather. He is my 
grandchildren's great-grandfather. His wife Gay, 97 years old, survives 
him.
  Bill Davison was 99 years old. He was a pilot in World War II in the 
South Pacific, tracking submarines of the Japanese Navy and cargo ships 
of the Japanese Navy to make sure our intelligence was the best it 
could be.
  Like so many of America's greatest generation, he sacrificed 4\1/2\ 
years of his life in defense of our country. He made a career of the 
U.S. Navy. He never talked about it, and only rarely did he say 
anything about it. But when he did, he talked about how proud he was to 
be able to wear the uniform of the United States of America.
  So while it was a tragic night for my wife, a tragic loss for our 
family, it is a reminder to all of us as Americans that our greatest 
generation is passing at a very rapid rate. Soon none will be here with 
us who stormed the beaches at Normandy, flew the skies of the Pacific 
or fought on the ground at the Battle of the Bulge.
  But we are all here today--you and I, Madam President--because of the 
sacrifice of those people--the greatest sacrifice in the history of 
mankind. In fact, the most unselfish act of humanity I have ever read 
about or heard about or was ever taught about was by that generation 
that landed on Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944, and freed America and 
freed the rest of the world from the totalitarian government of Adolph 
Hitler.
  So as my family pauses to mourn the loss of a father-in-law for me, a 
grandfather for my children, a great-grandfather for my grandchildren, 
and a father for my wife, we take joy in knowing that one member of our 
family was a part of a generation that saved all of humanity for 
democracy and for freedom and for liberty.
  To his wife Gay, who is in morning today, at age 97, we wish her a 
continued, prosperous life, and we thank her for her sacrifice, because 
like so many women--the wives of the soldiers during World War II--she 
kept the home fires burning. They worked in the factories. They made 
sure that America worked while their husbands were off to defend us.
  So while we had a tragic loss of life in our family on Sunday night, 
June 8, we had a positive remembrance of all that has been done for our 
family by the brave men and women who fought for the United States of 
America.
  May God bless William Hall Davison for his life and may God bless the 
United States of America.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.

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