[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17456-17457]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               ACKNOWLEDGING MARTIN VAN BUREN SASSER, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 4, 2015

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge Mr. Martin Van 
Buren Sasser, Jr. of Tracy, for his outstanding military service as a 
World War II Bomber Crewman and his exceptional dedication to Southern 
Pacific Transportation Company as a longtime employee. The beloved 
husband, father, and community member passed away on October 27, 2015.
  In Beatrice, Nebraska on June 9, 1924, Martin Sasser, Jr. was born to 
Martin and Leota Sasser. At the age of four, Martin and his family 
moved to Tracy, California, which became their lifelong hometown. He 
attended school in Tracy throughout his youth and graduated from Tracy 
High School in 1942. After his high school graduation, Martin became an 
employee of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, which has 
played a vast role in railroad transportation since 1865.
  After working on behalf of Southern Pacific, Martin enlisted in the 
U.S. Army Air Corps. He held numerous personnel positions, including

[[Page 17457]]

that of tail-gunner and belly-gunner for the Boeing B-17 Flying 
Fortress during its World War II deployment. Martin completed thirty-
five bombing missions out of England, towards targets residing in 
France and Germany and was involved in the first United States raid 
over Berlin. Martin also participated in one of the most notorious 
events of World War II, assisting in the D-Day bombing missions in 
support of the Normandy Landings.
  At the end of World War II, Mr. Sasser returned to Tracy after 
passing through Fox, Oklahoma. During this passage through Oklahoma, he 
met his wife, Alice, whom Martin would return to Tracy with.
  Once home in Tracy, Mr. Sasser returned to Southern Pacific 
Transportation Company, where he resumed working as a crew-dispatcher. 
After numerous years of diligent work, Mr. Martin Sasser retired as a 
Southern Pacific agent in 1984. Martin also developed and marketed a 
recreational balance board called the ``Tilt-O-Bord.'' This device was 
not only creative, but highly enjoyable.
  Martin's dedication to his community and fellow brothers and sisters 
in arms, both former and current, was evident through the work he did 
throughout Tracy. Mr. Sasser was an avid member of the James McDermott 
Post 172, the American Legion, Tracy Post 1537, and of the Veterans of 
Foreign Wars. Martin also participated in a vast number of Memorial Day 
and Veterans Day Services.
  For a number of years, Mr. Sasser enjoyed his time entertaining 
hospital and rest home patients, as he was a skilled guitar, harmonica 
and mouth-harp player. Mr. Sasser was committed to his faith. He served 
as a charter member of the Grace Baptist Church and held many positions 
within its congregation. Martin and his wife were able to invest their 
time traveling domestically and across the globe; visiting Europe, the 
Holy Land, Canada, and destinations throughout the United States.
  The Sasser family was blessed with four children, including a 
daughter and three sons. The family has also been gifted with ten 
beautiful grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the life of the late Mr. 
Martin Van Buren Sasser, for his years of service and outstanding 
contributions to the community as well as our country.

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