Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Page S3099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO THOMAS O'LOUGHLIN
Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, each Memorial Day we, as Americans,
take time to honor the heroes who gave their lives in service to our
country, from those who died in the creation of this great Nation to
those who today risk their lives in the most dangerous corners of the
world.
As we approach this Memorial Day, I want to take a moment to honor
the heroes still among us who served in the Second World War. There are
fewer than half a million of these veterans still living, and we lose
more than 300 every day.
These men and women of the World War II era are truly heroes here
among us. In the great battle between good and evil, these heroes
advanced over rough terrain against bombs and bullets and tanks.
Today, their battle is against the unrelenting march of time and the
inescapable effects of aging. For these veterans, whose valor many of
us only know from history books or movies, we still have the
opportunity and sacred duty to express our gratitude, so we honor them
as we aspire to be greater than we are. If we desire to serve more than
ourselves, we must honor them.
On this Memorial Day, I take time to draw special attention to one of
these heroes, who is now hospitalized in Mississippi.
Ninety-four years ago, Thomas O'Loughlin was born in an Irish-
Catholic community in New Jersey. When his country called him to war,
Tom responded and made his first trip to Mississippi, courtesy of the
U.S. Army, for training at Camp Shelby. He deployed to the European
Theater where, in January 1944, he was captured by the Axis forces and
held as prisoner of war for more than a year before liberation.
Following the war, Tom served as a guard during the Nuremberg Trials of
Nazi war criminals. One of the prisoners in his charge was Deputy
Fuhrer Rudolf Hess.
Following the Nuremberg Trials, Tom continued serving his country in
the Armed Forces, once again serving in combat with the 811th Engineer
Aviation Battalion assigned to the Fifth Air Force in Korea. He
returned to civilian life in 1952, eventually making his way back to
Mississippi. Keeping his Jersey accent and Irish sparkle, Tom made
Mississippi his home and married Rachel Pitts, a Southern belle. They
settled down in Laurel, MS, and like many members of the Greatest
Generation, Tom dedicated himself to serving his community as a sponsor
for those facing addiction. Even now, he calls from his hospital bed to
encourage sobriety and offer support to those who still turn to him for
help.
To honor Tom O'Loughlin, I had a U.S. flag flown over the U.S.
Capitol. I pray his health returns, and I ask we all offer prayers of
gratitude for Tom and the other World War II veterans across our
country, for they truly are heroes here among us.
____________________
