[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4727]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING SECOND LIEUTENANT MAAX CURTIS HAMMER, JR.

  (Mr. BOST asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a southern Illinois 
native who flew planes in Southeast Asia more than 75 years ago. This 
hero finally returned home this week for burial.
  Second Lieutenant Maax Curtis Hammer, Jr., died when his plane 
crashed in what was then Burma in 1941. Hammer was part of the Flying 
Tigers, a group of volunteer pilots who helped the British and Chinese 
defend against Imperial Japan.
  His remains returned to Carbondale, Illinois, this week, via 
dignified transport from Hawaii, where he had been buried for 67 years 
in a grave marked ``Unknown.''
  Maax, it has been a long time. With heavy heart, we welcome you home 
to southern Illinois, and we thank you for your service.

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