[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9851]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                         RECOGNIZING IVAN MARAS

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. RODNEY DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 2016

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Ivan Maras, a veteran, retired teacher, and Congressional Gold Medal 
recipient.
  When he was drafted by the Army during the Korean War, Ivan was 
permitted to finish his college degree before enlistment. In 1953, he 
left his hometown of Bulpitt and was shipped to South Korea, where he 
was assigned to serve in the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the 
Borinqueneers. Earlier this year, the entire regiment was honored with 
the Congressional Gold Medal for their valiant service and devotion to 
duty.
  When Ivan joined the 65th, it was a unit of predominantly Puerto 
Rican soldiers that had been recently integrated. He soon found himself 
in the heat of the action on the front lines at Inchon, where he 
described the explosions to be ``like the Fourth of July every night.''
  Ivan learned that some men in the regiment were unable to read and 
write, so he and others set up tents to start teaching. He then spent 
the remainder of his enlistment using his college degree to teach at a 
makeshift school established by the military in Korea.
  After the war, Ivan returned to central Illinois where he worked as a 
teacher in Kincaid for nearly fifty years.
  I am proud to represent soldiers like Ivan who go above and beyond 
the call of duty every day. I am honored to serve the brave men and 
women who sacrificed so much for our country. Congratulations on this 
prestigious honor, Ivan.

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