[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING AIR FORCE CAPTAIN JOE SMITH

  (Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
American hero, Air Force Captain Joe Smith, as he makes his final 
flight home.
  Though it has been nearly half a century since the 25-year-old 
fighter pilot was fatally shot down during the Vietnam war, he will 
finally be laid to rest in his hometown of Assumption, Illinois.
  Thanks to the efforts of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, a 
group which searches the world for missing American veterans, the 
remains of Joe Smith were identified, along with his plane, by using 
DNA analysis. The effort made to bring him home all these years later 
is a true testament to the military's motto of no soldier left behind.
  Those who knew Joe remember him as being a bright, polite young man, 
who was well educated, earning his master's degree in business at the 
University of Notre Dame and Washington University.
  Though he did not have to, Joe went willingly into the service, where 
he began as a first lieutenant and quickly worked his way up to the 
promotion of being a captain.
  With the help of the Assumption Historical Society, Joe's widow, 
Elaine Mills, a native of Decatur, has worked hard to keep his memory 
alive and honor his service to our Nation.
  I hope to do the same by recognizing him today on this House floor. 
Joe is a true hero. This country and this House will long remember his 
valor.

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