[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8712]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]





                            JOHN BRINKMEYER

  John Brinkmeyer was from New England and was born June 19, 1946. He 
served in the Army's 101st Airborne Division Artillery. John was 22 
years old when he died on November 27, 1968.
  John's family says that he loved barefoot waterskiing and flying. 
John chose to serve so that none of his three brothers would ever have 
to.
  The last letter John mailed to his parents from Vietnam described, 
with a positive outlook, living and working in less-than-ideal 
conditions. In his letter, he wrote that he expected to be promoted and 
receive a better aircraft in about 1 month. But almost 2 weeks after 
writing the letter, John's aircraft was shot down and John was killed.
  His captain wrote John's parents a letter that said:

       John was the most outstanding young officer in my battery.
       He was hardworking and conscientious in all that he did. 
     His personal courage on combat operations won him not only 
     the respect of all the officers and men in the battery, but 
     also that of Lt. Col. Bartholomew, the battalion commander, 
     who personally chose John as his pilot.

  In addition to his parents, brothers, and sister, John left behind 
his wife Leona, daughter Lori, and son Michael. John's daughter Lori 
feels that both her dad and mom were heroes--her dad for his service 
and sacrifice and her mom for dealing with the pain of losing her 
husband.
  I want to take a moment and thank all of the pages who have been so 
patient as I have read these stories of these incredible men who gave 
their lives for our country.
  I think one of the reasons why we have periods of commemoration and 
why we do this is so that we remind not only those of us who lived 
during this time but we remind a younger generation of that sacrifice 
and that opportunity to serve our country and to honor those people who 
gave the ultimate sacrifice.
  Our Vietnam veterans had a lot of challenges when they returned home 
right after Vietnam, and their challenges continue--whether it is 
untreated post-traumatic stress or just simply being part of a war that 
generated so much controversy in our country--but it can never diminish 
the sacrifice these men and their families made for our country.
  Again, I thank the pages for their attention, and I hope these are 
voices and names they will remember for a long time along with me. I 
know it means a lot to their families.
  I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.

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