IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE, LEGACY, AND SERVICE OF MAJOR GENERAL JAMES LISON, JR.; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 103
(Extensions of Remarks - June 19, 2019)
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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E795-E796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE, LEGACY, AND SERVICE OF MAJOR GENERAL JAMES
LISON, JR.
______
HON. MIKE GALLAGHER
of wisconsin
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Mr. GALLAGHER. Madam Speaker, today I rise in honor of the life,
legacy, and service of Major General James Lison, Jr., who passed away
on Friday, June 7, 2019 at the age of 98.
Maj. Gen. Lison was born in Green Bay on October 23, 1920. He
graduated from Green Bay East High School in 1938, where he met the
love of his life, Marian Kehl. Upon graduating from the Reserve Officer
Training Course at St. Norbert College, he was commissioned as a second
lieutenant in the Army and ordered to active duty at the U.S. Army
Infantry Replacement Training Center, Fort McClellan, Alabama on June
10, 1942. He returned to Green Bay to marry his sweetheart on September
11, 1942. The couple had four children, Kathy, Peter, Susan and Joan.
Maj. Gen. Lison served on active duty from 1942 to 1946, of which 14
months was in the European Theater as a rifle company officer, combat
liaison officer and assistant operations officer with the 42nd
``Rainbow'' Division.
Separated from active duty in March 1946, Maj. Gen. Lison accepted
immediate assignment to the U.S. Army Reserve. In November 1947, his
Army Reserve unit commander, then organizing a Wisconsin National Guard
regiment, recruited him to organize and command Tank Company, 426th
Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. In 1951, he was assigned to
the G-3 Section, Headquarters, 32 Infantry Division.
In 1953, Maj. Gen. Lison transferred to State Headquarters, Wisconsin
Army National Guard, to accept full-time employment in the state
Adjutant General's Office, where he served in a variety of staff
assignments, culminating in his appointment by Governor Warren Knowles
as the State Adjutant General in February 1969. He was promoted to
Brigadier General in December 1968, and to Major General in March 1970.
He retired from the active National Guard in 1980, and from state
employment with the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs in 1983.
Through his service, Maj. Gen. Lison earned many awards and
decorations which include the Legion of Merit, with Oak Leaf Cluster
(second award), the Bronze Star Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (two campaigns-Rhineland
and Central Europe), the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of
Occupation Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, and the Combat
Infantryman's Badge, as well as a number of State decorations and
awards.
[[Page E796]]
Madam Speaker, words cannot adequately thank Maj. Gen. Lison for his
years of service to our country. May his service, dedication, and
sacrifice be remembered by a grateful nation. I offer my sincerest
condolences to his family.
____________________