[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 16779-16780]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE BEND HEROES FOUNDATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2016

  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the non-profit Bend 
Heroes Foundation of Bend, Oregon, for its outstanding dedication to 
Oregon's veterans of the Armed Services.
  As a member of the National Honor Flight Network, the Foundation has 
honored over 550 World War II Oregon heroes who helped save the world 
from tyranny over seven decades ago. It has been my high honor to 
welcome them to Washington, D.C. and present each World War II veteran 
with a flag flown over our nation's Capitol in his or her honor.
  The Foundation created the Bend Heroes Memorial to honor Bend's 
veterans who served and died during war from World War I to the 
present. It was my privilege to help dedicate the memorial on Veterans 
Day back in 2009. The Foundation also inaugurated the Bend Parade of 
Flags program displaying 300 flags in Bend on eight patriotic days each 
year. I was again privileged to provide those flags and have them flown 
over our nation's Capitol.
  Furthering their efforts, the Foundation worked with the Oregon 
Legislature to create six war veterans highways across Oregon: World 
War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf/Afghanistan and Iraq 
and the Purple Heart Trail. Sixty-seven honorific signs have been 
installed on 1,730 miles of border-to-border highways, in total 
honoring 500,000 Oregon war veterans.
  The Bend Heroes Foundation also created the Oregon Medal of Honor 
Exhibit to celebrate 26 Oregonians who received our nation's highest 
award for valor above and beyond the call of duty during combat from 
the Civil War to Vietnam. Mr. Robert ``Bob'' Maxwell of Bend is one of 
the World War II recipients, and at 96 he is our nation's oldest living

[[Page 16780]]

recipient. It was a privilege for me to provide him with a large 
American flag flown over the U.S. Capitol. That flag is now prominently 
displayed at the Foundation's exhibit in McMinnville.
  I would also like to honor the members of the Bend Heroes Foundation 
for their tireless efforts: Chairman Dick Tobiason, President Erik 
Tobiason, Vice President-Secretary Yvonne Drury, Treasurer Priscilla 
Reich, Directors Bob Dent, Denny Drury, Joe Gallagher, Mike Genna, 
Harley Kelley, Bob Maxwell, Darla Rozelle, Rob Walker and Diane Harris, 
and Volunteers Candace Kelley, Mike Brock, Sid Poe, and John and Jean 
Frye. All serve without pay and are extremely proud of their efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful state and country, I wish to 
honor the Bend Heroes Foundation for its many grand accomplishments 
over many years.

                          ____________________