[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18277]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING RETIRED U.S. ARMY MASTER SERGEANT JACK C. HARLAN, JR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. LaHood) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor retired U.S. Army 
Master Sergeant Jack C. Harlan, who received the Military Order of the 
Purple Heart on Veterans Day last week in Peoria, Illinois.
  I was privileged to pin the medal on the lapel of Master Sergeant 
Harlan's dress blues in front of hundreds of spectators and veterans 
gathered at Peoria's World War I and World War II memorial.
  The veterans event, held annually to honor our servicemen and -women, 
this year brought a special opportunity to witness Master Sergeant 
Harlan receive his distinguished medal. It had been approved recently 
by John McHugh, our Secretary of the Army.
  Master Sergeant Harlan has 18 years of service to our Nation, 
carrying out tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. While on deployment for 
Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007, a vehicle carrying Master Sergeant 
Harlan and a small transition team on combat control was suddenly 
struck by an IED.

                              {time}  1045

  Harlan was knocked unconscious from the blast and suffered concussive 
injuries from the attack.
  Mr. Speaker, Master Sergeant Jack Harlan is a son of central Illinois 
and has served our country with valor. He has since been honorably 
discharged from the United States Army and has returned home to help 
serve his fellow veterans. We honor him with this Purple Heart.

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