[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13079]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF SERGEANT BOB REASONER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Duncan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on June 26, South Carolina 
and the United States lost a hero. Sergeant Bob Reasoner was a World 
War II United States Army Air Corps veteran and a tail gunner assigned 
to the 68th Squadron, with the famous 44th Bomber Group known as The 
Flying 8 Balls.
  The events of December 7, 1941, compelled Mr. Reasoner to serve in 
World War II, survive three life-threatening missions, a year in German 
POW camps, and 2\1/2\ years in a hospital undergoing multiple surgeries 
from his injuries.
  During Sergeant Reasoner's military career, he participated in 21 
successful bombing missions over Germany and France. During the return 
flight of one of those missions, Bob's plane was unexpectedly diverted, 
ran out of fuel, and crashed in Wales.
  While he was at the hospital recuperating from his injuries, Bob was 
given the option to return to the United States but turned down that 
offer so he could continue to serve his country.
  On October 1, 1943, Sergeant Reasoner flew his last mission, during 
which his B-24 Liberator, the Black Jack, as it was known, was attacked 
and caught fire. Parachuting to the ground with his head engulfed in 
flames--now remember that Sergeant Reasoner was a tail gunner. He had a 
long way to travel from the rear of that aircraft as it burned, falling 
from the sky.
  But as he was parachuting down, he passed out from his injuries, and 
he woke up in a hospital. His head and his eyes were wrapped in 
bandages, and all he could hear was German.
  He was now a POW, captured by the German soldiers. His captors 
allowed him only a weeklong hospital stay before shuffling him between 
different POW camps over the next year.
  On his 26th birthday, September 26, 1944, he returned home to the 
United States of America. He told me, he said: ``That was the first 
time I felt safe. Seeing the Statue of Liberty was an amazing feeling 
because I knew then that I was home.''
  Bob Reasoner earned three Purple Hearts for his heroic service to our 
country. But if Bob was still alive today, he would say that he 
wouldn't want his service defined by his numerous distinctions that he 
was awarded but, rather, he would want us to remember the 21 successful 
missions he was a part of to help secure freedom for this country and 
many other countries.
  I had the opportunity to meet Bob in my hometown of Clinton, South 
Carolina, where he was in a retirement home, and I heard his stories 
firsthand. And after talking to Bob, I went on to learn more about the 
heroic actions of the 44th Bomb Group.
  During my research, I came across a great compilation by Will Lundy, 
who was a ground crewman on the 67th Bomb Squadron of the 44th Bomb 
Group, called the Roll of Honor and Casualties.
  I recommend everyone look that up and read it. The stories are 
amazing. This compilation documents the heroic stories of these men who 
fought for our freedoms, including my friend, Bob Reasoner.
  He lived his life quietly among us, bearing the scars of war and 
service. His ear was mangled. His eyelids had been reconstructed. He 
bore the scars of numerous burns.
  I am especially grateful for Mr. Reasoner's bravery in protecting the 
United States, and I grieve with his family and friends during the loss 
of a great man, an American soldier and a true American hero.
  May God bless the men and women who served in World War II. May God 
continue to bless those who serve our country and have served our 
country, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

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