July 11, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 116 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT COLONEL MICHAEL HEALEY; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 116
(Senate - July 11, 2019)
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[Page S4803] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT COLONEL MICHAEL HEALEYMr. INHOFE. Mr. President, today I wish in tribute to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Healey of the British Royal Artillery Regiment, a great gunner, an officer of the highest quality, a British patriot, and a beloved friend of Oklahoma and America. On June 29, we lost Mike Healey at the age of 67 after a 4-year battle with cancer. Just as in life, he faced his last fight with courage and vigor, without complaint, and with that famous British stiff upper lip. Mike was taken from us too soon, but his memory will be with us always, and his service will live on as a testament to the bonds of affection and friendship that still animate the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. Mike spent a lot of time in my State during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s at a little place called Fort Sill, in Lawton, OK. Many of you know that Fort Sill is the home of the U.S. Army Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery. Major Mike Healey first came to Fort Sill in January 1988 to replace Major Ian Dowdswell as the british exchange instructor in the field artillery advanced course, which is now called the captains career course. Mike was already very experienced as a major in the British Artillery and brought that tactical and technical knowledge to share with U.S. students and faculty. He made it through the instructor ``murder boards'' in record time, as he had been an instructor in his own Army. He very quickly grasped the American acronyms and organization for combat. Mike did a fantastic job as an instructor and was respected by his students and colleagues. Mike came back to Fort Sill in 1997, after a promotion to lieutenant colonel, and became the British liaison officer to the U.S. Field Artillery. He represented the British Army exceptionally well in all aspects of the new position. One of the main reasons he was promoted and was allowed to return to America so soon was that he spoke ``American'' so well. Lieutenant Colonel Healey returned for a third time to Oklahoma in 2005 to be, once again, the British LNO to the U.S. Field Artillery School but with the added responsibility of also serving as the British air defense artillery liaison officer. LTG Dave Valcourt was the commanding general of Fort Sill at the time, and specifically requested that the British Army send Mike back to Fort Sill for yet another tour to help guide the base through a critical period as it absorbed the U.S. Army ADA School from Fort Bliss. Lieutenant Colonel Healey's combat theater service gave him immediate credibility with his American comrades in arms. Mike served in the Falklands War with British forces in 1984 and in Iraq alongside American units in 1991. In addition to his combat credentials, he coordinated joint/combined Cold War exercises and security procedures, working with Americans in Germany in 1979 and 1990 and in Turkey in 1996. As a truly solemn and high-visibility assignment, Mike commanded the Queen's Guard at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, marching the men down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Castle, followed by dinner with the Queen in 1983. Mike was a graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy, the Royal Field Artillery School at Larkhill, and earned a master's degree at Schrivenham. He also had a BA in economics from Manchester University. His military awards include the U.S. Army Field Artillery Association St. Barbara's Medal, the U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal, the British Gulf War Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal for special recognition during the commemoration of the Queen's 50th year on the throne. Lieutenant Colonel Healey's greatest satisfaction and proudest moment, by his own admission, was when he authored, staffed, and presented a new Ministry of Defense Command policy to House of Commons on ensuring military members were not forgotten once they left the military and that their sacrifices were acknowledged in the civilian world with special accommodations. He and his wife, Mo, were the consummate hosts at numerous official functions they personally planned and catered at Fort Sill, to include their memorable farewell bash in 2007 at the Polo Field. Mike Healey loved America, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He was constantly amazed by the wide-open spaces in the American West, the 300-plus sunny days per year, and how friendly the people were. Mike unabashedly adopted the United States as his second home and voluntarily spent nearly a third of his military career in Oklahoma. In fact, he thought so much of this great land that he specifically requested Old Glory be draped across his casket next to the Union Jack at his military funeral, which will be on July 19 in Thirsk, England. I am personally requesting that an American flag be flown over the Capitol in honor of Mike Healey and his service, not just to his own country but also for his service to our country. That flag will then be transported to England for the burial by Lieutenant General Valcourt, Retired, who will also deliver a portion of Mike's eulogy. With this extraordinary request, Mike performed one last act of service by reminding his British compatriots and his American friends of our proud history and all that we still have to achieve together. In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt sent Harry Hopkins as his personal envoy to meet Prime Minister Winston Churchill. At dinner one night, Hopkins rose and quoted from the Book of Ruth: ``Whither thou goest I will go, and whither thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.'' He then added, ``even to the end.'' Mike Healey lived those words. He saw firsthand why Americans love their country, and he became a true ``forward observer'' of the American dream. We are all better off for knowing Mike, and we will never forget all he has done for the U.S. Army, the Field Artillery School, the State of Oklahoma, and the United States of America. ____________________
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