[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING COL. FRED VANN CHERRY

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 14, 2016

  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to honor the 
life and legacy of Col. Fred Vann Cherry, an Air Force fighter pilot 
who spent seven years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Colonel Cherry 
passed away recently at the age of 87 while living in Maryland.
  A native of Suffolk, Virginia, Colonel Cherry was born to farmers on 
March 24, 1928. He attended the racially segregated schools of the Jim 
Crow South and graduated in 1951 from Virginia Union University, a 
historically black college in Richmond. He then joined the Air Force.
  Colonel Cherry was a Major who had served more than 100 combat 
missions in Korea and Vietnam when his bomber was hit by enemy fire in 
October 1965. He suffered significant injuries while ejecting and was 
captured immediately upon landing. He spent 702 days in solitary 
confinement and endured torture at the hands of our enemies. Colonel 
Cherry was the first and highest-ranking black officer to become a 
prisoner in Vietnam.
  Colonel Cherry credited his survival to a fellow POW who, in turn, 
credited Colonel Cherry with his. The two wrote a book about their 
friendship and gave joint talks at military institutions and colleges. 
Colonel Cherry was also featured in a documentary narrated by Tom Hanks 
about Vietnam fighter pilots held as POWs.
  Colonel Cherry later attended the National War College and the 
Defense Intelligence School in Washington. After more than 30 years of 
service, he retired from the Air Force in 1981 as a decorated joint 
staff officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency. He then 
started his own engineering company.
  While too numerous to mention in their entirety, Colonel Cherry's 
awards and accolades include two Purple Hearts, the Silver Star, two 
Bronze Stars and the Air Force Cross, which recognizes ``extraordinary 
heroism,'' ``personal fortitude'' in the face of severe enemy 
harassment and torture and suffering critical injuries. A scholarship 
in his name is given annually by the Suffolk Foundation.
  Colonel Cherry has remained a dedicated father to his five children, 
three of which also enlisted in our Armed Forces. He died as a 
grandfather to 14 and a great-grandfather to six.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join with me today to acknowledge the 
service and sacrifice of Colonel Cherry and that of his family. I 
humbly express my condolences to his family and wish them peace and 
comfort in the days ahead.

                          ____________________